Ocarina
by shinobipopcorn
Summary: Impa enlists a distant relative to provide cover for the Princess until the Hero awakens. That relative is Sheik, a gender neutral child with a slight resemblance to the Princess. When they finally meet Link, Sheik is quite taken with the mute hero. Can they fulfill their duty as his guide without their feelings getting in the way? OOT novelization for nanowrimo 2014.
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

**Notes on the format, because heaven knows how confusing I am:**

**Double line divisions indicate a change in perspective (from Sheik's story to Ganondorf's story).**  
><strong>Single line divisions indicate a break within the same perspective (like a scene change).<strong>

**"Double quotes" are spoken word.**  
><strong>'Single quotes' are Link's "voice", which select characters can hear.<strong>

**Sheik uses the pronoun set they/their. Certain characters will refer to them as he and she, this is intentional (just ask a trans friend what all they get called in a day).**

**Adult scenes will be in their own chapters. Enjoy!**

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><p>The tragedy that struck Hyrule was foretold in a dream. Dark clouds covered the land, blocking out every trace of light. When everything was at its darkest, a single ray of light penetrated the gloom. It focused on a figure holding a green and shining stone, who appeared alongside a small fairy.<p>

Prophecies were common among the wise men of Hyrule, though they seldom prompted action. Instead they were noted and analyzed, with the mindset that "whatever will be, will be". So when the young Princess Zelda told her father about her dream, he did nothing.

The arrival at the castle of a boy in green, on the same day as the sinister man from the desert, prompted the Princess to take matters into her own hands, and she sent the lad on a quest to save Hyrule. He returned with the necessary relics in time to watch Ganondorf, the Gerudo king, take over the castle. Using the ocarina the Princess left behind, he opened the Door of Time in an effort to thwart the dark man's scheme. But the unexpected happened.

The hero was too young to wield the keys to the Sacred Realm, and thus was sealed into slumber the moment he pulled the Master Sword from its resting place. It left the Sacred Realm open, and gave Ganondorf the chance he'd been waiting for.

The moment Link pulled the sword, he disappeared in a flourish of blue light. The Gerudo king stood still, watching as the room transformed around him. He just knew following the boy who let the Princess get away would pay off. The temple disappeared into an image of a grove, where a stone pedestal (presumably the one which held the Master Sword) sat in front of a small dais. Right in the middle of that dais was the object he had spend his entire life trying to claim- the Golden Power itself, the Triforce.

"Heh heh, heheheheheh! FINALLY!" Ganondorf ran up and touched his prize, but when he did, something unexpected happened. The sky turned red, and the Triforce shattered. The topmost piece flew into his chest, sending a radiating heat down to his hand where an emblem took shape.

"Shit!" The Gerudo knew himself to be arrogant, but he was not stupid. He knew every Sheikah legend, including the ones regarding the balance of the Golden Power. When he saw the two pieces fly away, he knew what had happened, and he immediately knew where to find the first of the two pieces.

"Zelda..."


	2. Chapter 2: The Little Sheikah Child

Ganondorf's war on Hyrule became known as the Uprising. The castle was laid to ruin, villagers were chased away by monsters, and the entire country was searched for the one who held a part of the prize Ganondorf had yet to claim. The Princess was hidden well, thanks to her Sheikah attendant Impa.

Impa was a proud and fierce warrior. She knew much about war and peace, and was as skilled with killing as she was with healing. Zelda escaped Ganondorf thanks to her quick thinking, and it was her skill with the magic of Shadow that kept them hidden.

No hiding place is safe forever, Impa realized, and she knew extra measures would need to be taken to ensure the safety of the Princess until the hero woke. So she traveled to the realm beyond Hyrule, the realm that embraced magic and mystery- Termina.

The Sheikah once lived in the eastern Termina valley of Ikana. It was in this shadowy kingdom that a certain child lived, one who Impa hoped would make her plan a success. The child's name was Sheik, and apart from eye color looked almost exactly like the Princess. Impa planned to train Sheik to be the Hero of Time's guide, and at the same time fool Ganondorf into thinking that Sheik was Zelda in disguise.

Sheik was twelve when Impa appeared in Ikana Canyon. The first think Impa noticed was that her little cousin was small for her age, a perfect match to Zelda's size. But Sheik was nothing like a normal little Sheikah girl, and refused to be called a girl at all. With messy hair cropped at the shoulders, average build, and a lack of breasts, Sheik was both and neither at the same time.

Impa respected Sheik immediately. After all, she herself broke stereotypes, and whatever gender Sheik took did not matter to the plan. If anything it helped, because Ganondorf would expect Zelda to go out of her way to hide, and taking on an androgynous appearance was quite out of the way.

Sheik understood that by helping Impa and the Princess that their life might be at stake. But it was a risk they were willing to take. Impa was the only Sheikah that understood them, the only one who knew they weren't defective. So Sheik left Termina, and began the long wait for the hero's arrival.

Impa knew that the child would not understand the importance of the situation unless they were exposed to real threats, so she pushed little Sheik to the brink. Thus, the years waiting for Link's awakening were spent under the Sheikah elder's hard tutelage.

Impa was an oddity herself among the Sheikah. She eschewed the traditional female Sheikah weapons, choosing instead the giant sword of the Termina Gorons and the Gerudo naginata, and could fight her way through a crowd of lizalfos barehanded. Nothing scared her, and no problem was too small for her counsel. She was just the right person to prepare someone for a life of war.

Impa realized that the teen lacked physical strength, so she taught Sheik how to use their speed to their advantage. "Every fortune starts with a single rupee," she used to say, demonstrating to Sheik that several weak yet quick strikes to the target can have the same effect as a single strong one.

The other thing Impa desired to teach the little teen was magic, but as she found out, Sheik was not unfamiliar with the art of casting. Long days left alone had driven them to explore Ikana Canyon, and Sheik had become friendly with the remnants of that kingdom's enemies- the Garo.

The Garo sensed an innocence in Sheik, and imparted their wisdom to them as a sign of respect. When Impa arrived to teach Sheik the mysteries of the Shadow, Sheik demonstrated their hiding skill. Impa was thrilled.

"You will be a valuable ally in our coming struggle, and you are just the one we need to lead the hero."


	3. Chapter 3: The Girl Who Never Cries

The day after Ganondorf claimed the Triforce of Power, his followers ransacked Castle Town. Gerudo warriors, stalfos, and iron knuckles broke down the drawbridge, followed by a figure in a dark red cloak. The soldiers obeyed the figure's command to raze the town.

"Captain Agahnim! The townsfolk are fleeing, shall we hunt them down and eliminate them?" a feisty Gerudo asked as she shot a flaming arrow into a store's roof.

The one called Agahnim stepped out from the shadow, revealing a tall man with oddly patterned gray skin and red eyes. His hair and face were covered by a hood and mask, though wisps of silver hair stuck out the sides. "No, let them go. They are only villagers, and besides, they can serve as witnesses for those who would seek to challenge our king's rule."

Agahnim let the soldiers have their fun, and pressed onward to the castle. The few guards that tried to stop him were met with a dagger to the neck. "Why do they even bother, their king is dead. Oh well, fight to the last and all." Three more guards met their deaths at his blade before he came to the main gate.

Parts of the castle were already smoldering, and several bodies lined his path. "Ah, I see. Those were the hold outs, then. Aye, on to business." Agahnim broke into a sprint, weaving through the carnage and into the castle. He found what he was looking for in the throne room, of course.

"Agahnim," a thick baritone called out upon the captain's entrance. The voice's owner was draped across the castle throne, staring up at the marble sculptures which depicted the Goddess's departure from Hyrule on the ceiling. "Do you think the one of Din is worth saving?"

"Master, I apologize for the delay." Agahnim bowed to the Gerudo king, knowing better than to engage Ganondorf in a debate on Hylian philosophy. The Gerudo did not worship the creators of Hyrule in the same way as the Hylians, and debating religion with one was as dangerous as engaging them in battle. "Your troops have arrived, and I have instructed them to raze the market."

Ganondorf stood up from the former king's throne, wiping crusted blood from his armor. "Fine, carry on. Any word on the Sheikah woman or the Princess?"

"Impa is well versed in the shadow arts, and knows how to hide herself well. I haven't been able to sense her." Agahnim slid off his mask and hood, revealing skin that was marbled with the signs of healing burns. Brushing silver hair from his red eyes, he sighed. "We're no longer in the same tribe, after all..."

Ganondorf was grateful to have a Sheikah on his side, but it wouldn't make finding Zelda any easier. "She will hide Zelda in the shadows," Agahnim explained, "possibly even using a double to confuse you. If Zelda truly has the Triforce of Wisdom, she will use its powers to conceal herself. But she is young, too young to comprehend the weight of her actions."

"By my calculations, we have seven years until that boy comes out of the Sacred Realm, and the Triforce of Courage with him. I want her found before then," Ganondorf ordered, leaving Agahnim in the throne room.

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><p>Ganondorf stomped down the castle halls, making mental notes of what he wanted to keep when he tore down the castle. Hylian aesthetic disgusted him, but he had to admit that some of the castle treasures were worth saving.<p>

The castle was mostly empty now, save for Ganondorf's people. The Hylian soldiers had been defeated, the wait staff had been chased out, and the figureheads killed or imprisoned. So when Ganondorf arrived at the stable and saw an unfamiliar young woman removing the reigns from his horse, he was annoyed. "You, girl! What do you think you are doing to my horse?"

The girl turned to the source of the voice and screamed from fright. She was short, maybe around five and a half feet tall. Her carrot colored hair was streaked with dirt, and additional streaks ran across her face beneath her green eyes. She vaguely resembled a Gerudo, though he had never seen one with that distinctive color of eyes.

"I asked you, what were you doing to my horse?" he shouted again, grabbing her by the arm. She squealed again, causing him to shake her violently. "You fool of a girl, do you not know who is standing before you? I am the king of this land now, and that means you are to obey ME and answer my demands!"

"I-I, I was only... I didn't know it was yours, and... I just didn't want the poor horse to get hurt!" The girl was shaking but did not cry, instead keeping her eyes glued to the Gerudo. Ganondorf let go of her arm, surprised at the girl's boldness.

"Why have you remained in the castle when the others have fled?"

The girl looked around, obviously trying to fabricate a believable story.

"The longer you take to develop a lie, the sooner I'll become angry with you."

She looked up, startled that her plan was discovered already. So she decided to go with the truth. "I... I wanted to make sure the people with families and loved ones escaped first. That way if I got left behind, it wouldn't matter. I'm nobody, so it's okay if I can't get out."

Ganondorf stared her down, then twisted his face into a hideous grin. "Well, aren't you lucky, then. Anyone else would have killed you on sight. I, however, have some use for you. Your name?"

"...Marin."

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><p>Ganondorf dragged Marin by her arm back to the castle, leading her to the throne room and tossing her in front of it as he sat down. Agahnim and the other Gerudo in attendance all turned toward the commotion. "You worked here under the old rule, but now you will need to adapt to mine. And the first thing you are going to do is bare yourself to me."<p>

Marin's eyes went wide, as did those of Agahnim and the Gerudo warriors he was conversing with in the corner. "You... You want me to-"

"I will not repeat myself."

The Gerudo king stared at the girl, waiting for her to make a move. Marin stood still for a long while, before slowly reaching up to her neck and untying her collar. She let her tattered dress fall to the floor and remained in her slip, hesitant to go further.

Annoyed with her stalling, Ganondorf stood up and ripped the straps off Marin's shoulder, causing the garment to fall and catch on her hip. She gave a short yelp and tried to cover her breasts with her arms, but Ganondorf intervened and pinned them to her sides.

"You town women and your insistence on modesty... You hardly even have that much to hide," he growled as he stared at her body. She was small in comparison to the ample busted Gerudo women, and her frame was thin. Nothing like the women he'd had before. "Tch." He shoved her into his captain, who just barely caught her. "Agahnim, have her cleaned up and sent to my chambers. I have a few things to attend to in the mean time."

As Agahnim bowed and started taking her away, Marin protested. "Wait, do you mean you're going to, going to..."

"I haven't decided yet if I'm 'going to' yet, but I like having the option available," the evil king smirked.

* * *

><p>Marin wiggled as Agahnim dragged her down the hall towards Ganondorf's bed chamber, using her free hand to hold up the torn slip. "Stop pulling so hard, I can walk myself, you know!"<p>

"No, I don't know," Agahnim sneered. "If I let you go, there's a chance you'll take off running down the hall in the opposite direction, and I'll be forced to expend energy to retrieve you, which you can probably tell just by looking at me that I quite frankly don't feel in the mood to do so." He pushed open the door to their destination, and shoved Marin inside.

Ganondorf's bed chamber was not as grand as one might expect, given that he had taken over the castle only recently. A large bed, a few trunks of armor and clothing, and a chair were the only things in the main chamber, though through an open door on the other side, Marin could see a large study.

"You may not be aware of how lucky you are, so listen closely." Agahnim turned Marin to face him, and lowered his mask. He raised an eyebrow when she did not cringe at his burns. "Master hates Hylians. He hats them so much that he kills them at every chance he gets. Something about you struck his fancy, however, so he spared you a painful death. You owe it to him to repay that favor. Whether you do it by spreading your legs or by servitude, either way you must prove yourself useful or he'll just eliminate you like that, understand?"

Marin nodded, but then a thought came to her. "So if I were Hylian, he wouldn't have let me live?"

Agahnim narrowed his gaze. "You're not Hylian? Hmm, now that I look at you closely, you do have some traits I've never seen in them. Like those green eyes. And is that red hair?! My word, you are filthy. Into the bath with you!" He pulled her to another door on the wall, opening it to reveal a large washroom. "I'm sure as a maid, you'll know how to work the plumbing. Clean yourself off, then sit on the bed and wait for your Master to return." Agahnim stomped out, leaving Marin to herself.

Marin did as she was told, thankful to get the dirt and grime off of her body. When she was finished bathing, she looked around for something to cover herself with. The torn slip was useless, not to mention filthy. There were a few towels in the washroom, but none big enough to cover a grown woman. That left one other place to look- the main room.

Opening the washroom door slowly, Marin poked her head out, confirming that she was alone. The trunk she saw earlier was her best bet for finding clothes, but did she really want to risk it? What might Ganondorf do when he found out?

_To hell with it_, she thought. _If I'm going to die, I might as well do it with clothes on._ She tiptoed over to the trunk, her bare skin glinting in the moonlight coming through the window. The trunk was unlocked, but to her dismay, the lid was extremely heavy. She couldn't lift it with her hands, so she turned around, braced her shoulders on the handle, and used her legs to push up with all her might. "Open, you stupid trunk!" she grumbled, cursing more when she slipped and landed on her hind quarters.

"Well, isn't this a surprise."

Marin yelped when she saw her captor was leaning against the far wall, having been there the entire time.

Ganondorf laughed when Marin realized that she was not alone. "So reluctant to disrobe for me in the throne room, but here I find you naked, on the floor with your legs spread wide. That eager to please me, little girl?"

Marin clamped her knees together, using her legs to shield her nakedness. "I-I just wanted something to cover myself. Y-you wouldn't want me to put that dirty slip back on, would you?"

"No, I do not want you to put anything back on. I like to take my girls in the nude," he answered, taking his cape off and tossing it to her for cover, which she accepted and wrapped herself tightly. "But tonight, I am rather busy, so you have earned a reprieve. Sit there quietly and do not disturb me, else I will fuck you raw right over that trunk!"

The girl nodded furiously, and watched as Ganondorf moved into the study. He lit a number of candles, and sat down at a desk covered with books. Marin couldn't see the titles from her position, but they all looked to be ancient. She watched as he glanced through several volumes and took copious notes, continuing until the candles ran low.

Marin thought to herself as she watched him. _So odd... That man killed the king, drove everyone from the castle, and caught me red handed trying to set his horse free, yet he just disrobes me and makes me watch him read?_

She started getting drowsy and closed her eyes for only a minute, opening them to find that Ganondorf was gone. _Probably looking for another book..._ She closed them again, this time feeling as though she was floating. She felt herself land on something soft, and then be covered with something warm. _Mmm, it feels so nice..._

Ganondorf laid the girl on the bed, snuffed out the bedroom candles, and retreated back into the study. He still had a lot of research to do, and couldn't be distracted by the sight of a maiden sleeping in the nude. Though, he had to admit, his new acquisition was much lovelier than the castle scenery.


	4. Chapter 4: Inochi

**Note: Adult chapter!**

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><p>Marin woke in an unfamiliar bed, the sun shining brightly on her pillow. When she sat up and saw the room, she remembered what had happened. This was Ganondorf's bedroom, and she was now his property.<p>

She looked down at the cape she was still wrapped in. _I wonder if I have to wear this for the rest of my days..._ Noticing the bed was empty besides her, she swept the room. All of the doors save the washroom were closed, and there was no sign of the Gerudo king. She did notice a bundle draped over the chair, and rose to inspect it. It was a Gerudo style outfit, consisting of a vest, a bandeau, and a pair of loose pants. It was very revealing, but certainly better than the cape.

Marin dressed herself in the Gerudo outfit, at least what she could wear of it. The bandeau was far too big, and kept sliding off. The vest was also large, and on a proper sized girl it was not meant to touch in the middle. But for Marin, it was wide enough to make into a top, so she used the broken strap from her discarded slip to secure the open ends. It still showed more skin than she would like, but at least it covered her modesty.

Marin returned to the bed and pondered her situation. She knew sooner or later, Ganondorf would use her for his own pleasure. She had no experience with sexual relations, but from what the other wait staff whispered, it was nothing but pain for women, and those who found it enjoyable it were amoral.

"Sigh... Well at least no one else will get hurt."

"You really need to work on that attitude of yours." Ganondorf stepped out of his study, once again catching Marin off guard. He was much more casual than she last saw him, having removed his armor and headdress during the night. His eyes landed on the unworn bandeau, and he frowned. "I see you found the clothing. What's the matter, my people's style not good enough for you that you had to alter it to suit your tastes?"

"N-not at all! It, it just keeps falling off..."

Ganondorf sighed and pushed Marin over on the bed. He untied her vest and slid it open, watching her tremble as the air hit her chest. "So tiny," he remarked, flicking one of her hardened nipples. "In my land, only children have such small breasts." He grinned and licked her nipple, making her shiver and moan.

"I spent all night with my nose in those books, and now I would like to stick it in something else," Ganondorf murmured as he took her breast into his mouth, massaging it with his tongue as his hand went to work on the other one. Marin gasped and jerked around, confused by the sensations.

"S...stop that... Ahh!" She panted as he switched sides, and bucked her hips up as Ganondorf stuck his finger in her navel.

"Gerudo women take pride in their bodies, especially in the art of pleasing oneself," he explained as he pulled off Marin's pants. "Breasts provide nourishment, so the women caress them to stimulate growth. The core provides life, and the navel is a reminder of our mother's care."

"Ohh- ahh!" she moaned as Ganondorf kneaded her hips.

"The pelvis helps us stand, helps support the growth of a child, and..." he spread her legs apart, "holds the entrance to the body's pleasure center." Ganondorf licked a finger and shoved it inside Marin, causing her to groan incoherently.

"There's also one other part of the body the Gerudo hold sacred, a part most Hylians ignore. Do you know what that is?" he smirked while continuing to thrust his fingers inside her. "We call it _inochi_- the very core of one's being, and lacking it is the sole downside to being King of the Gerudo. Let me show you why."

Ganondorf removed his fingers and brought his face to Marin's hips, grazing his tongue over the tender bud above her entrance. Marin twitched and bucked as he licked, her mind clouded by a white flash.

"Wh-wha...?" She moaned, barely able to concentrate.

"In your language, it would be called the clitoris. But I also believe Hylians look down on women who give themselves pleasure, hence your ignorance of your own body." Ganondorf resumed licking her, and slid his fingers back inside her entrance. Fingers and tongue in tandem, he taught Marin what it was to feel bodily pleasure. He continued his ministrations, soon feeling her tighten around him and release the juices of her first climax.

Ganondorf rose to see Marin's chest heaving and her knees quivering, sweat dripping down the sides of her face. She wearily opened her eyes, making him grin. "You enjoyed that, didn't you? Come here and use your mouth to repay me for my generosity."

He pulled off his shirt and breeches, revealing his leaking erection. Marin only looked at it, having never seen an adult male without clothing. Unsure what he wanted, she simply crawled over and parted her lips.

"Such a child. Not like that, like this." Ganondorf pulled her chin closer, smearing his leaking fluid on her lips to coax her into licking him. "Good. Now do that while I am inside." With no further warning, he thrust himself into her mouth, giving her little time to suppress her coughing before moving.

"Mmpf!" Marin reached up and grabbed Ganondorf's hips as he pounded into her, using him to keep her balance. She used her tongue as he instructed, and while it was a little hard to breathe, this was not as painful as she thought it would be.

"Ugh, tighten your cheeks," Ganondorf growled as he picked up speed. A few moments later he came hard into her mouth, causing her to cough. But to her credit, she swallowed his seed with little fuss.

"You are young, but I can tell that you are a fast learner," he remarked as he released her. "Serve me well in your new role, and I will reward you with an easy life. But cross me, and you will discover just how disposable you really are. Now come, you will help me bathe and then we will dine. "


	5. Chapter 5: The Guide and the Spirit

The Temple of Time was the one building that went unscathed in the seven years since the Uprising. The monsters swarmed around it but kept away, never setting foot on the blemished steps behind the old mask shop. It was a fine structure, with a small reflecting pond outside and several gardens surrounding a marble foundation.

Inside the Temple of Time, the one who would become the hero's guide spent their days in wait, though not alone. Nineteen year old Sheik sat up on the grand window sills, watching a little robot flitting about the rear chamber below.

"Master Sheikah, you don't have to hide up there," Scrapper grunted as it saw them shifting in their crouch.

Sheik relented, and hopped down. There was no use denying or pretending they weren't there. The little robot was sharp, and it never did learn how to take "no" for an answer. "I'm not hiding, I'm merely staying out of the way while you work."

They watched as Scrapper squeezed a magenta blossom into a bowl, manufacturing the oil that kept the Master Sword shining. "I'm sure she wouldn't mind if you used a little of that on yourself, after all you need it to keep running," Sheik commented as the robot worked.

"No!" Scrapper yelled, pushing Sheik away and zooming up to the Pedestal of Time, where both of their charges rested. "The best of the flower crop is reserved for her. I'll use the ones that start to rot."

Sheik sighed and grabbed the robot as it flew by, using their other hand to squeeze the remains of the blossom over its gears. "Fi would want you to keep functioning. If you cease operation, no one will be left to take care of her and she will be lonely. Give yourself a little credit."

Scrapper let out a sigh and zoomed onward. Sheik had first encountered Scrapper when they came to the Temple of Time after the Uprising. Scrapper revealed itself when it heard Sheik address the sword by name and ask her to watch over the hero until the time came when he was ready to save Hyrule. Sheik then explained to the robot that the sword's true name was familiar amongst their people, and that was how they knew the sword was alive. Old legends stated that the Master Sword once had a physical body, but only the Sheikah remained who knew it to be so.

Sheik believed Scrapper was kept functioning through divine intervention, and thus made it a priority to help keep the little guardian running. "The garden where you grow those flowers is behind the temple correct? I'm worried that the sun may not reach them. What with the way the town has turned out..." Sheik hung their head.

"Don't worry, Master Sheikah. Flowers get plenty of sunlight. But that's why I've been making more oil, so Miss Fi can still be taken care of if they wither. I'm going to check on the garden now."

Sheik watched it buzz out of the room, before sighing. "You should tell Scrapper yourself, he apparently doesn't think my advice is valid."

A blue light pulsed from the pedestal, and a ghostly blue figure appeared before Sheik. It spoke in a mechanical yet harmonious voice. "There is a 95 percent probability that if I do so, the unit designated as Scrapper will deepen its resolve to save the oil for my sake."

"Maybe the robot would listen if you told it you would be saddened by losing it, then."

Fi hung her head for a moment, before replying. "I do not believe 'saddened' would be the correct word to use to describe my state of mind. If Scrapper were to cease his daily ministrations, the sword would still be functional and the hero would be able to perform his duties."

Sheik was about to protest, but Fi continued. "However, I do believe that I would experience the human phenomenon called 'loneliness', were Scrapper to cease functioning."

"And yet you say you have no emotions," Sheik smiled in response. "...How's he doing?"

Fi used her abilities to link with the Sacred Realm, understanding who the Sheikah's question was directed at. "Young Master is currently struggling with his mental growth. However, Rauru is confident he will be ready when the time comes."

_I sure hope so. _"Okay. Thank you for your help, Fi. Now make sure one of these days you TELL Scrapper that you are still here. He will be overjoyed."

"...You have assigned the designation 'he' to Scrapper. Your default manner of speaking has always used the designation 'it' to refer to the robot. My analysis indicates that you recognize this as a romantic situation. However, I must remind you that..."

Sheik sighed. _Fi still has a long way to go before she realizes._ "You better hide, I hear Scrapper coming back."


	6. Chapter 6: Link's Awakening

"He'll take care of her, right? Remember to polish her every day, keep monster guts off her, not use her for vile deeds?"

"Of course he will, Scrapper, calm down," Sheik sighed. "He'll return her to you as soon as the evil is vanquished from Hyrule. Now go hide like I told you to, and make sure you use some of that oil for yourself."

The day Impa had projected finally arrived. Sheik was not worried as much as they were nervous; after all, the only reports of the hero's progress had been feelings from a sword spirit. But the Goddesses knew their champion, and Sheik had faith that he would pull through.

Sheik leapt up to the rafters as the chamber began to glow. In no time a figure materialized in front of the pedestal, the sword now in its hand. The first thing Sheik saw was a blur of green, then a hint of yellow, before the rest of the hero's body finally came into focus. A tiny blue fairy materialized with him, and started whizzing around the hero's head.

"Link... we're back in the Temple of Time... But have seven years really passed?" The fairy's voice was barely audible from Sheik's perch, but they saw the hero inspect himself in response.

_Now's the time._ Sheik jumped down from their perch, landing soundlessly behind the hero. But the Sheikah was not quiet enough. Link paused, then within a second drew his sword and whipped around. He was rather sharp to hear the Sheikah's footsteps. The hostile look on his face faded when the two made eye contact, and he lowered the blade.

Sheik expected the hero to grow in age and in skill, but not handsomeness. The one before them was a far cry from the sheepish boy Impa had described- this man was standing confidently, blue eyes fixed on them as if being a stranger meant nothing.

Link looked nothing like the Hylians of the village or market. His skin was as fair as his hair, a combination of Forest sunlight and Sacred Realm slumber. He said not a word, but as Sheik stood there, they felt like they understood him completely.

'I don't know you, are you friend or foe?' he spoke without moving his lips, as his fairy ducked behind him for cover.

The words they have been practicing for the last seven years did not come easily, but Sheik finally managed to snap out of their trance. "I've been waiting for you, Hero of Time..." Even to someone as disinterested in people as Sheik, this boy- no, this _man_ was tantalizing.

"When evil rules all, an awakening voice from the Sacred Realm will call those destined to be Sages, who dwell in the five temples," Sheik began. "One in a deep forest... One on a high mountain... One under a vast lake... One within the house of the dead... One inside a goddess of the sand."

Link's ears perked up at the word forest. 'Like Rauru said.'

Sheik nodded. _So he has already heard of his mission._ "Together with the Hero of Time, the awakened ones will bind the evil and return the light of peace to the world..."

'You wear the same emblem as Impa. The Sheikah are not extinct, then?' Link cracked a small smile, surprising Sheik.

"You are correct. That was the legend of the temples passed down by my people, the Sheikah. I am Sheik. Survivor of the Sheikah..." _How noble he is, to care about the fate of others._ "As I see you standing there holding the mythical Master Sword, you really do look like the legendary Hero of Time... If you believe the legend, you have no choice. You must look for the five temples and awaken the five Sages. One Sage is waiting for the time of awakening in the Forest Temple. The Sage is a girl I am sure you know..."

The color suddenly drained from Link's face, and the fairy flew up at attention. 'No... Is, is it Saria?'

Sheik could read the anxiety on the hero's face. Link knew his closest friend was in danger, but they wondered if he knew the reality of the situation. Sheik's expression did not change, but inside they were mournful. The boy without a fairy, that had to grow up so suddenly, was going to lose the one person who treated him as family.

The least Link could do was get her out of danger. "Because of the evil power in the temple, she cannot hear the awakening call from the Sacred Realm..."

'The temple is the one in the meadow, isn't it. Tell me what I have to do.' Link gripped his sword, an angry scowl taking the place of his fright.

"Unfortunately, equipped as you currently are, you can not even enter the temple... But, if you believe what I'm saying, you should head to Kakariko Village..." Link didn't even wait for Sheik to finish their sentence before running out of the temple.

As soon as the temple doors shut, Sheik sat down at the pedestal. Link looked ready to face the threat ahead, but was he, truly? Impa said the boy in green was resourceful, enough to solve the problems of three races before his tenth birthday. But resourcefulness alone would not thwart the king of evil, and Link clearly had a lot to learn. On that note, Sheik rose and headed for the forest.


	7. Chapter 7: The Forest Temple

Ganondorf felt it. The boy's awakening had sent a tremor through the Sacred Realm, and made his Triforce resonate. He pushed away the girl sleeping on his chest and rose to the window of his chambers, staring out at the one building that remained standing in the Castle Town market. He could almost see the Sacred Realm opening to return Link to Hyrule.

The girl sat up and brushed carrot colored hair from her worried eyes. "Nnn... what is it, is something wrong? You only just recently came to bed..."

"The Triforce of Courage has awakened." Ganondorf turned back from the window, his face sour. Not even the sleepy visage of his lovely companion could wipe it away. "What is with that look of concern? Have you no faith in my power, Marin? Return to sleep, both of you."

"...The baby's awake, so I'm awake," Marin said, rubbing her pregnant stomach. Ganondorf was not lying when he said he had a use for Marin those seven years ago, and now his plan had finally come to fruition- his heir would soon be born. The stable girl had turned out to be just what he wanted- someone who was meek enough to bow to his every whim, yet strong and unwavering. And in the seven years since he forcefully took her as his sexual companion, not once did Marin cry.

"Does that mean you'll be leaving to fight him, while he's weak and disoriented?"

"No," the Gerudo king answered. "He will lead me to the other piece of the Triforce. That princess may have eluded me for seven years, but now that her hero has returned, she will make a mistake and reveal herself. I need only wait."

* * *

><p>At dawn, after Ganondorf set out for his war council, Marin rose from the bed and walked out onto the balcony. Ganondorf had demolished Hyrule Castle and built his own cruel tower in its place, and thus there was no scenery to take in apart from the charred rocks around the lava pit. No more stables, no more trees, nothing.<p>

It was a cruel way of living, but at least Marin survived. In the beginning, Ganondorf used her as little more than a concubine; having her prepare his meals, bathe him, and sleep with him. He gradually reduced her duties over the years, transferring them to his soldiers or creatures, and instead started treating her as a companion.

The Gerudo began shying away from their king once he took the Triforce of Power, and it had gotten to the point where only herself and Agahnim were able to hold an intelligent conversation with him. Is that what he wanted, to rule a land yet be virtually alone?

Marin sat back down on the bed, aching from a few strong kicks by the little one, and pondered the future. _What will happen to the land when the hero really comes to face him? Will the two Triforce holders engage in battle, or will the Goddesses prevent it?_ She rubbed her stomach again, and let out a sigh._ I can only hope that when all is said and done, Hyrule finds peace. If not for us, at least for the generations ahead... _

* * *

><p>...<p>

* * *

><p>Sheik dashed across Hyrule Field, easily dodging the hordes of stalhounds and poes that had bred and taken over the fields since the Uprising. The Sheikah stopped short at the entrance to the forest, where a large stalfos had taken up patrol. Though Sheik was armed, it was much easier to call upon the shadows for cover. Sheik slipped behind the trees and crept along the mountain wall. Once behind the monster, they thrust a bomb into its ribcage and ran, wasting no time to watching the monster shatter into pieces.<p>

The path to the village was bare, but evil had not spared the sacred home of the Kokiri. The monsters of the forest thrived after The Great Deku Tree's death, and now the village was filled with oversized hostile deku scrubs and skulltulas. Sheik snuck past a few and leapt up to the Lost Woods entrance, leaving the creatures for the hero to deal with. Because they were not native and did not have a fairy guide, Sheik would need all their energy to navigate the deadly maze before them.

The Lost Woods did not welcome outsiders. Only those born of the forest, such as the Kokiri and Forest Nymphs, or those like the Kokiri, with a guardian fairy, could survive its magic. Sheik was neither of those, but there was no choice. They had to make sure the path was open for the hero. Using all of their training, they closed their eyes and focused on the sounds around them.

_"Forest and shadow have little in common, yet they are nearly the same,"_ _Impa said. "Nothing grows without absorbing light, and in return, it creates darkness. Be confident in your abilities, and listen to the voices around you. Then you will find the way."_

Remembering Impa's advice, Sheik ran in the direction their ears led them, and in no time found the pool leading to Zora's Domain. A Kokiri stood nearby, arms folded and foot tapping.

"Who are you, and why aren't you turned into a stalfos?" His freckled nose and brow were wrinkled into a frown, and he appeared rather put off.

"Who I am is of no concern. I am merely a guide, ensuring that the path ahead is safe for the hero."

Mido raised an eyebrow, but didn't budge. "Hero? Please. No hero is coming through here anytime soon. Now go rot in a ditch somewhere."

"I would prefer to 'rot in a ditch' after I speak with Saria."

The Kokiri perked up. "You know Saria? Bull. The only outsider she knows is that no-fairy, and he long since abandoned us. I'm not letting you or anyone else through here, so scram!"

Sheik sighed, and reached into their belt. Out came a small deku nut.

"What're ya gonna do with that? You think the confusion from throwing those deku nuts will work on me? We created them, you can't trick a Kokiri with those!" Sheik cut off Mido's boast with a flash, and re-emerged behind him. Leaving the boy to caress his bruised ego, they continued onward until reaching the Sacred Forest Meadow. Leaping to the top of the maze to avoid the moblin guards, they dashed to the temple entrance.

Link was nowhere to be found, and Sheik could sense he was not yet in the temple. So they took root in a nearby tree and waited for him, strumming nonsensical notes on their lyre. When the growls and screams of moblins filled the air, they knew the hero had arrived. Sheik watched as he ran up the stairs and straight for a tree stump in the corner, his face souring when he saw it was empty.

"The flow of time is always cruel..."

Link spun around, this time having missed Sheik jumping down. His eyes were sad, as if he knew what to expect but chose to ignore it. Sheik's heart tinged, as they imagined what face he would make once he found out Saria would not be coming back. "Its speed seems different for each person, but no one can change it. A thing that doesn't change with time is a memory of younger days... In order to come back here again, play the Minuet of Forest."

Sheik produced the lyre from earlier, and strummed the notes that would activate the nearby warp pedestal. Link was transfixed on the instrument, so much so that Sheik had to play the song again before would join in. The fairy even jabbed at the hero's waist to make him pay attention.

Link missed a few notes at first, his grown up fingers not used to the now smaller instrument. But on the third time the melody came out perfectly, and Sheik joined in with their lyre. The fairy danced around their heads as they played, harking back to a time when the forest was lively and free of danger. Link stated at his ocarina when they were finished, but quickly put it away and smiled at Sheik.

The awestruck hero could not contain his giddiness. 'That was beautiful. I've never heard such an instrument, and yet you play it so talentedly,' he said without a word, grinning so wide, one would never think he had been grieving the moment before. It made Sheik blush and thank the Goddesses that their face was covered.

"Link... I'll see you again..."

Before the hero could blink, Sheik tossed a deku nut on the ground and leapt away. They stayed on a nearby ledge and watched as Link steeled himself for the temple. He cocked his head in confusion for a moment, trying to find a way in, before getting out his new hookshot and pulling up to the entrance.


	8. Chapter 8: The Harsh Reality

Sheik paced around the Temple of Time, using their shadow magic to listen in on the creatures outside. Ganondorf's evil magic caused the creatures to thrive, and they had taken over the remains of the market. They were not strong enough to touch the Temple of Time however, and that pleased the Sheikah. Ganondorf had enough power to level the building, but something kept him at bay, perhaps his belief in Sheikah superstition.

A noise broke Sheik from their reverie and they drew their knife, but quickly sheathed it when they saw Link approaching.

He looked like a mess. He walked right past Sheik and into the sword chamber, pulling off his hat and slumping to the ground next to the pedestal. Sheik watched as he buried his head in his knees, and though he made no sound, it was obvious he was weeping.

"It's Saria," Sheik heard in their ear, and turned to see the fairy sitting on their shoulder. "She was unhurt in the end, but he found out she can never come back."

"Unfortunately the Sages must remain in the Sacred Realm, to maintain the seal once the evil is vanquished. But he can converse with her whenever he wishes, correct?"

"Yup. But he's also pretty sad about what the Great Deku Tree's sprout told him. That he was never a Kokiri to begin with. He really was an outsider."

Sheik frowned, and turned to the fairy. "It is not heritage that makes a family, it is companionship. The act of caring for someone while expecting nothing in return, and protecting them when one's own life is at risk is what really defines the relationship. Kokiri are not literal siblings with the fairies that follow them, yet they bond all the same. Saria and Link are family, just as Saria and that impertinent Kokiri with the freckles are."

'His name is Mido.'

Sheik turned around, finding Link in the doorway. It was strange how his "voice" could carry so well without a sound.

'Mido hated me when I was small. He even blamed me for The Great Deku Tree's death. But when I saw him a little bit ago, he was remorseful. He told me to tell Link that he was sorry. Heh, even with Navi there, he didn't recognize me.'

"That's because you've gotten so handsome!" Navi flew over and nudged Link's cheek, bringing a small smile to his face. Sheik smiled as well. "You destroyed the wicked creatures that haunted the temple and awakened the Sage... But there are still other Sages who need your help. In order to awaken all the other Sages, you must become even more powerful."

Sheik beckoned the hero back into the sword chamber. "You must travel over mountains... under water... and even through time. If you want to return to your original time, return the Master Sword to the Pedestal of Time. By doing this, you will travel back in time seven years. The time will come when you will have to return here quickly. I will teach this to you for when that time comes. The song to return you to the Temple of Time... The Prelude of Light."

Link perked up when Sheik withdrew their lyre, and he got his ocarina ready. He watched as Sheik strummed the melody, and then repeated it perfectly on the first try. The two played their song, filling the room with light. When finished, Link sighed contently and turned to Sheik. 'Once again, you have melted away my depression. I think your fingers are magical.'

_So adorable when he smiles like that... I only hope the coming trials will not break him._ Sheik gave Link a slight bow, before palming another deku nut. "As long as you hold the Ocarina of Time and the Master Sword, you hold time itself in your hands... Link, we shall meet again!"

Link's sullen face returned as Sheik disappeared. Up in the rafters, Sheik watched as he slumped back down on the stone steps, with Navi using his hat as a makeshift sleeping bag. The hero fell asleep in minutes, exhausted from the day's revelations. Sheik touched down quietly, and produced a bag from the corner. They pulled out a blanket, and draped it over the hero. "Sleep well, Link."


	9. Chapter 9: Bolero of Fire

Sheik twitched atop their perch in Death Mountain Crater. The volcano was hotter than they expected, and their lack of sleep was affecting their concentration. All they had thought about since leaving the temple was the hero's face as he played the Prelude of Light, and the way his blue eyes lit up when Sheik withdrew the lyre. There was no doubt in Sheik's mind that Link sparked a reaction in themself. The problem was identifying that reaction.

Sheik did not fit into either of the two "normal" genders. They were raised as a girl, and always told to do the things "normal little girls" were expected to do- wield ranged weapons instead of melee types, practice motherly skills, and wear female clothing. Sheik didn't have breasts, and never understood why they needed a shirt when they had the same body as the little boys. Even now, Link had a bigger chest than them.

_So what was I feeling last night? It certainly wasn't jealousy, more like admiration. But it was too intense to be just that. Was it romantic? But that would mean becoming a girl again. I can not go back there, not after what __**he**__ did to me..._

Sheik heard the clang of a hookshot, and knew it was time to put their thoughts aside. They leapt down just as Link landed on the shaky wooden bridge leading to the temple. He spotted them immediately, and came running over.

'You have a wonderful sense of timing. You always catch me, but I never seem to catch you.' The hero had a warm smile on his face, which Sheik blamed on the heat. But it couldn't be the heat, because there was not a drop of sweat on his body.

Link noticed the Sheikah's inspection, and patted his new tunic. 'A present from Darunia's son, Link. He's named after me! Anyway, about the present- this tunic's made from special cloth that repels the heat, and I even got a matching hat for Navi to hide in. But enough about us, are you okay, Sheik? You look exhausted.'

Sheik was grateful once again that Link could not see their face. They had not genuinely smiled since before the Uprising, and yet in the span of a day, this man had wrung a good bit out of them. The earlier thoughts were now hitting them in waves, making them want to do more than just look.

"It is something that grows over time... a true friendship. A feeling in the heart that becomes even stronger over time..." It couldn't be coincidence that Sheik felt the way they did. The magic of the song had gotten through to both of them before they even played it. "The passion of friendship will soon blossom into a righteous power and through it, you will know which way to go... This song is dedicated to the power of the heart. Listen to the Bolero of Fire..."

Sheik waited for Link to produce his ocarina before starting, but he was clearly distracted. Something shone in his eyes, something Sheik was not familiar with. It made him look like more than the Hero of Time, more than the Goddesses' chosen warrior. He looked like he had just won a prize, and happiness was emanating from him.

"Play the Bolero of Fire!" Sheik prodded, trying to get both of their minds back on track. Link raised his ocarina, and joined in before Sheik finished the first line. It was almost as if he felt the notes inside himself.

When they finished, the two stared at each other for an eternity.

"Link..."

Link sensed what was coming next, and made a hasty step forward. Just then, the volcano temperature spiked, and a flame sprouted up between the two, stopping the hero in his tracks.

"I'll see you again..."

* * *

><p>"Ugh," Sheik moaned as they peeled their sweat soaked garments from their shoulders. They were tossed to the side in a heap, along with the bandages that made up their cap and gauntlets.<p>

Sheik laid down in the fairy fountain at the peak of the volcano, utterly exhausted. The heat of the volcano was one thing, but they had never accounted for the heat that sparked inside themself as they played with Link.

Sheik spent the last seven years thinking about the hero, but never once did they romanticize him. He was always just a boy, albeit a special one, and it was their duty to show him which way to go. Now, however, the hero was a man, and had found his way to the temple on his own. It had only been a day since they met in person, and already Sheik was doubting themself. Did he really need them, or were the songs just excuses to see him again?

"Dearie, you shouldn't give yourself away like that, tee hee hee."

Sheik's eyes sprang open, and they jumped out of the fountain to grab a knife. The water suddenly splashed up, making Sheik sigh and sheath the knife in return. It was only the Great Fairy of Power.

"What do you mean by 'give myself away'? If you mean the mask, there is no one here but you and I."

"Not the mask, the goodies." The Great Fairy laughed and pointed to Sheik's discarded shirt. "Even small, they're still precious. I'll bet a _certain someone_ wouldn't want you letting others see."

_Not this again._ Sheik put their arms on their hips. "I beg your pardon, Great Fairy, but I have nothing to 'give away'. If anything, you're the one who could use more clothing. That ivy does not leave much to the imagination."

"Ha! I like you, Sheik. And I know I'm not the only one..." The fairy winked and drew up a picture of the hero, working his way through the Fire Temple. "Fairies whisper among themselves, and this one's fairy is quite encouraging. What did her companion say? Oh yes, I think it was 'how lovely' and 'why do they always run away?' ...Oh! You're blushing!"

Sheik scoffed. "You're trying to distract me from my duty, Great Fairy. I have to recover from this heat so I can teach him the way into the next temple. Please leave me be." In reality, they just didn't want any more encouragement for their growing feelings. Link was normal, Sheik was not. Nothing could come of it but heartache, and they would not go through that again.


	10. Chapter 10: Hellfire

Three days later, Link had still not emerged from the Fire Temple. Sheik wore a hole into the fountain floor from pacing. Finally, they turned to the Great Fairy for advice. "Great Fairy, please. You said fairies whisper to one another, can you hear anything from Navi?"

The Great Fairy grimaced. "All I hear is silence. Navi may have been injured, and cut herself off to conserve energy. ...Wait, where are you going? Why are you undressing?"

Sheik threw their shirt and wraps to the side. "I'm going in after him. With the heat, these things will only slow me down."

"You can't do that, only the hero can-"

The fairy was cut off by an enormous thundering, and the whole mountain shook. Sheik ran outside to see the evil cloud around the peak dissipate, and the skies returning to normal. But even so, they couldn't shake a feeling of dread.

Sheik ran back into the Great Fairy of Power's fountain, and used a hidden tunnel to emerge in the Great Fairy of Wisdom's fountain in the inner volcano. They arrived in time to see a blue light deposit the hero on the warp pedestal. As soon as the light dissipated, Link collapsed.

"Link!"

Sheik ran to his side, and gasped at what they saw. The right side of his face was covered in blood and char marks. His tunic was in tatters, and as a result yellow and white burns covered his left shoulder. A set of three parallel gashes ran across his stomach, still gushing blood.

Cursing in various tongues, Sheik lifted Link onto their back. He was a tad heavier than they could carry, but they didn't have to go far. When Link's hat fell to the ground with a thud, Sheik discovered Navi inside. She was alive, but her breathing was weak. Sheik put her back in the hat and held the hat in their teeth as they scrambled into the fountain.

* * *

><p>"I can ease his pain, but I can do little to cure these injuries," the Great Fairy of Wisdom said as she looked upon Link. "These wounds appear to have been caused by a remnant of evil magic, which is something I can not reverse."<p>

"Can you keep him alive, long enough for me to tend to him, then? The fate of Hyrule depends on Link, we can not lose him!" Sheik was near hysterical. How could he be hurt so badly that the Great Fairies could not save him? Was Ganondorf this strong?

"If you wish it, I can make it so that he will survive. But any pain and after effects of these injuries will remain. I can not do both. You must choose; will you save the life of your hero and make him suffer, or will you give him peace for the remainder of his days?"

Sheik felt torn. They did not want Link to suffer, but at the same time, he was the only hope Hyrule had. If Link died, they wouldn't know what to do. Link had the Triforce of Courage and the Master Sword, he had to be the one to kill Ganondorf.

But Link was a wreck. His shoulder, his _dominant_ shoulder, was nearly melted. His right eye was likely blinded. It would take months to recover to where he could fight in battle again. The pain would never go away. Hell, the _memories_ would never go away. A tear slipped down Sheik's face at the thought of being responsible for years of agony.

"Do it."

Hearing a voice, Sheik and the Great Fairy looked over at Link, where Navi was laying. The little fairy had come around on her own, and was huddled over the uninjured part of the hero's face. She was sniffling from the sight of him, but grateful that he was alive. "He's strong, he'll be able to live with the pain. A little pain now is nothing compared to the eons of pain Ganondorf would inflict should he not make it."

"You're a valued companion, Navi," Sheik said, scooping up the little fairy and washing the soot from her face. "Great Fairy, please keep Link alive. For all of us."

* * *

><p>Sheik sat atop the roof of Impa's house in Kakariko, eyes closed in meditation. They had managed to get Link down to the village, and now he was sleeping in the elder Sheikah's house. Sheik was afraid to warp given Link's condition, so one of the Gorons helped carry him down the mountain. When he was stable, Sheik began treating his injuries.<p>

Granny from the potion shop had been able to create a salve for soothing Link's shoulder burn, and Sheik was able to stitch his chest gashes closed with the aid of some blue potion. However, Link's eye was another story. Sheik had carefully washed his face, and dabbed potion around the wound, but his iris was cloudy and nothing could reverse it. There were rumors of a doctor by the lake that could transplant eyes, though the surgery was long and involved, and could do more damage than good. Frustration that they couldn't help the one they cared about drove Sheik to scream and kick over tables, which was why they were currently banished to the roof.

_Impa, help me. Only two temples in and already he's near death. What will I do if he leaves us?_

Sheik looked back up at the night sky. Impa was a skilled healer, and Sheik wanted so badly to seek their elder's advice and treatment. But to do so would risk exposing the Princess's hiding place, the one thing Sheik couldn't do no matter the circumstances.

_"Times will come when you are lost, and will not know how to advise the hero. When that happens, above all else, remember that you are not alone. The Sages can guide you, the citizens can guide you, even the hero can guide you. Just do not lose hope. We will eliminate the evil that plagues the land, but we will not do so overnight. Take time to consider your options, and the way will show itself."_

Impa's words came back to Sheik. Their elder was wise, as expected of a tribe leader. Her words were comforting, and so they pulled out their lyre and strummed a melancholy yet inspiring song to gather their morale.

"Granny says you can come back down now," Navi said, having come up to deliver the message. "That tune's so sad. What is it?"

"The Song of Healing. A melody that heals evil magic and troubled spirits, though it doesn't seem to work outside of my homeland." Sheik sat down the lyre and sighed. "How is he?"

"He's still unconscious, though his breathing is easier. You've really helped him. So it was no cause for you to destroy your elder's house."

"I sent a boy, barely a man, into an active volcano without warning him of the deadly dragon that inhabited it. He emerged practically dead, kept alive only by the magic of the fairies and the divine gift. How is that helping?"

Navi giggled and flew around Sheik's head. "You are a friend when no one else is. I could tell he was confused and a little scared when he woke up. You pointed him on the right path, helped him with the pain of Saria's loss, and left him blankets and food. You perk him up with that harp, not to mention how you completely understand him."

"What? You mean his way of speaking is only heard by certain people?" It had never even occurred to Sheik that they were the only one hearing Link's words in their head.

"Oh yeah, no one can ever tell what he's saying. Poor boy has always been mute. Only Saria, the Great Deku Tree, and some of the fairies have been able to understand him. The Great Deku Tree told me once that it must be the price he paid to take refuge in the forest, and so only those with forest blood can understand him. Not even the Princess knew what he was saying, I had to translate. So I think it's a sign you two are meant for each other. After all, if that song in the volcano was enough to go on, you clearly return his feelings."

Sheik was taken aback. "We better get back inside, I sense a storm coming," they said, changing the subject. No matter how much they tried to shake off their feelings, everyone kept pointing them out. A definite connection existed between the Sheikah and the hero, a bond that as much as they wanted to, Sheik couldn't bring themself to acknowledge. Coming up to the roof was supposed to help Sheik clear their head. Instead, the little fairy helped muddle it by making Link's feelings known.


	11. Chapter 11: Revelations

"Why do you cover your face?" Navi asked as Sheik removed the bandage on Link's shoulder. Their head covering and arm bands had been discarded at the fountain, but they still wore a mask. "You're a boy, right? Are you ashamed of something? Do you cover up because you look like a woman?"

"Why do you ask so many questions?" Sheik replied back. Link's shoulder was still raw, but the salve had improved it. Sheik picked dead skin from the wound, and wrapped it back up. "I cover my face because it keeps me safe. People don't understand me, and they want to treat me like something I'm not." Sheik leaned back and looked up at the ceiling.

"Sigh... I do not consider myself male or female, but if you must know, my body has the design of a woman's and that is part of the problem. I am content with my body as it is and am ashamed of nothing, and no one is going to convince me to be something I don't want to be. But sometimes it is easier to take the option away from them. People at the very least have to guess at my gender when I'm covered. When I am uncovered, they assume I want to be called female because I resemble the Princess. I don't want to be called anything but Sheik."

"But you were uncovered when you saved me and Link. I saw you, you're really handsome. Me and Link will take care of anyone who bothers you or calls you strange, don't worry. You're our guardian angel." The fairy buzzed around Sheik's head, before zooming in and kissing their forehead. Sheik was so surprised, they dropped the box of gauze in their hands.

"You...! Get lost before I decide to use you as a healing implement!"

Navi flew out the door giggling, leaving Sheik and Link alone. Sheik sat on the floor and leaned on the edge of the hero's bed, strumming quietly on the lyre. It had been 36 hours since the volcano, and Link still hadn't woken up. On top of that, Sheik hadn't slept. It just wasn't feasible. Sheik had to ensure Link was tended to, so there was no time for themself. The Sheikah were known to go without sleep in times of hardship, and it was one of the traits that made them such good protectors. Sheik would just need to call upon their ancestors' strengths.

They laid their head on the bed, and picked up his calloused hand. "Please wake up soon, hero. Hyrule needs you, more than you know."

* * *

><p>Sheik tried to fight it, but sleep eventually got the better of them. They dreamt of what might happen should Link fail to wake, and it frightened them. Ganondorf was there, mocking Sheik and Zelda for opposing him. He lashed out at the Princess with threats of torture and rape, and when Sheik tried to intervene, he sentenced them to the same fate. Sheik began trembling and let slip a few tears, before being stirred awake. Someone was comforting them with a soothing stroke on the head.<p>

Sheik looked up, and found a bright blue eye looking back at them. Link was wrapping his fingers with Sheik's bangs, a faint smile across his face.

"Link..." Without a thought, Sheik sat up and leaned over him, focusing on his injured eye. He moved to meet their gaze, but instead of centering his focus, he turned his head ever so slightly to the right. It was a telling sign, and Sheik caught it. They grimaced, and all color drained from their face. The fight with the dragon had cost him his eye.

Sheik hung their head and cursed, attempting to hide their tears. But Link noticed, and used his good arm to hold up their chin.

'Don't cry.'

He ran his hand up the side of their face, tucking back the bangs that covered their left eye and massaging their ear. Sheik was so unguarded that they missed the hero sliding a finger into their mask, until he had already pulled it away.

'I was right, you really are lovely.'

The Sheikah's eyes widened. "Wh-why are you wasting time thinking about me? My mistake cost you half of your sight and most of your blood. It is my job to guide you, but I've misled you and caused you-" Sheik started to back away, but Link held firm and pulled them into a kiss.

Sheik's body suddenly felt as if it was on fire. Link's kiss was gentle, a series of tentative little smooches that became a solid press against their lips. Sheik sighed against him as he licked the remains of tears from their face, and wanted to bury themself in his arms as he rubbed the back of their head. But he was the Hero of Time, and once he was healed, this moment would end. Sheik knew that the longer this went on, the harder it would be to face reality.

"Link, please... You're still injured," Sheik protested, but Link kept at it, trailing his hand down to their waist and back up their back. When they tried to pull away a second time, Link gripped their forearm and rolled them onto the bed.

"Nngh," Link hissed, but quickly turned his gaze back to Sheik, who was now beneath him. Wiping the pain from his face, he smiled at their look of surprise.

"You fool! You'll rip the stitches on your stomach open, not to mention that burn won't heal if you move around so much! Why would you do something so brazen?"

'So you won't run away when I close my eyes,' he answered, leaning down and kissing Sheik's nose. The hero looked like he wanted to say more, but his pain had caught up with him. He laid his head on Sheik's chest, hugging them tight like a pillow, and immediately fell asleep.

Sheik ran a few fingers through the injured hero's hair, stunned at what had just happened. _You silly, impulsive, adorable little boy... _


	12. Chapter 12: A Love Not Meant To Be

Sheik woke first, though not in the position they expected. Link had managed to roll the two so that Sheik was back on top, but he kept his arms locked around their waist like a vice. Sheik was nestled under his chin. When they lifted their head, they got a good look at Link's now blind eye. The scar across it was not very long, but rather the socket took the brunt of the force. Terrible bruising surrounded the eye; it was so black when he emerged from the volcano that Sheik thought it was burnt. But as the hours passed, it had turned purple and yellow, indicating the skin was intact.

As Sheik studied the sleeping hero's face, a hand came up and started rubbing their head. Looks like he wasn't sleeping after all.

'If you're thinking about going anywhere, I won't let you. Navi's even got the door covered.' Link squeezed Sheik even tighter, grinning and rubbing his cheek on their head.

"I don't understand you," Sheik mumbled as they were pressed against his neck. "We've only interacted four times, and yet you suddenly cling to me. You don't even know me!"

Link sat himself up against the headboard, ignoring the screams of his injured stomach. 'Saria told me that everyone is born with a piece of themselves missing, and in its place is the missing piece of someone else. The Kokiri have a piece of their fairy inside them, and the fairy has a piece of the Kokiri. So she told me that perhaps the reason why I never had a fairy was because my piece wasn't inside one of them, that it was inside someone out there in the land past the trees.'

He looked around the room, finally settling on the hat draped across a nearby shelf and the little blue fairy nestled inside. 'Navi is a good friend, but we both agree there are times when we just have to get away from each other. Like in the Forest Temple, she stayed quiet, tucked inside my hat while I went searching for the poes that stole the light from the elevator lamps.

'But you, I knew the second I saw you pull out that instrument. You see, I had a dream while I was asleep in the Sacred Realm. In the dream, a girl with blue hair and skin talked to me about the future. She said that I had a lot of responsibilities, but that I wouldn't bear them alone. Someone who understood my pain would see me through the ordeal. The girl wouldn't tell me who it was, but she did say it was someone very unique. Then I had another dream where I was in a peaceful meadow, and there was a song playing from an instrument I'd never heard before. Someone was sitting up in a tree playing that instrument. I couldn't tell if it was a boy or a girl, a Hylian or a Sheikah or a Gerudo or what. But they looked at me and smiled, told me it was fine to rest, and that I had made everyone proud. The instrument looked just like the one you have.

'You pointed me in the right direction when I woke disoriented. You created melodies to help me find my way. And you cared for me when I was incapacitated. You're right that we've only known each other for a few days. But that's long enough for me to know that you're my missing piece.'

Sheik's skin was as red as their eyes from blushing. "...We need to heal you as quickly as possible. The other temples-"

'Can wait.' Link lifted Sheik's chin and kissed them again, this time sliding his tongue between their lips. Sheik moaned, but did not try to pull away. They knew Link's feelings were not misdirected. He loved them. Nothing they could say would make him change his mind, and in a way it was relieving. He was not going to run away when Ganondorf was destroyed. He would follow Sheik, it did not matter that they were not a woman-

Sheik abruptly pulled away from Link and jumped out of bed. This wasn't right. Link was innocent and pure, and Sheik was an aberration. How would people judge the hero when they found out he fancied a shadow who could not decide on a gender? "I have to get more medicine for your wounds," Sheik stammered as they ran out the door, leaving a confused and visibly hurt hero in bed.

Sheik ran straight to the cemetery, collapsing behind one of the large graves in the back. Tears streamed down their face, a product of the realization that no matter their feelings for each other, Sheik could not be with Link. He was the Hero of Time, the one destined to destroy the evil that plagued Hyrule. Sheik was a nobody, a tramp of a child who grew up in Ikana graveyard and whose only purpose in Hyrule was to provide cover for the Princess until Ganondorf could be defeated.

Sheik had to sever their ties with Link. If they stayed near him it would only be a corrupting influence. The hero would be expected to set an example, possibly even court the Princess when everything was said and done. He could have a real woman, not the in-between that Sheik was.

Sheik buried their head in their knees, with tears pouring from their eyes and a mind unable to think straight. "Help me, Impa... I can't..."

* * *

><p>Sheik woke up in the damp, cold grass of the graveyard. The sun had barely risen, but already the clucking of cuccos could be heard in the distance. Sheik new they needed to get up, but there was just no energy left in their body to do so. They couldn't remember the last time they cried so hard. Not only Link was perfect in every way, but he actually loved them back. It was if the Goddesses themselves were taunting Sheik, giving them their soulmate but at the cost of his reputation. Sheik just could not bring themself to hurt him like that.<p>

After a few more hours of lying listlessly in the grass, Sheik finally stood. They absentmindedly wandered out into the town, earning more than a handful of stares from passersby. Sheik wandered over to the well and collapsed in front of it, staring into the water and trying to ignore the hushed insults of those around them.

The disheveled Sheikah was quite a sight. Sheikah were few and far between, let alone Sheikah who spent the night crying in a cemetery. Before the Uprising, Kakariko Village was primarily families that understood the Sheikah. After Ganondorf drove people from Castle Town, the village became the main Hylian settlement. With the citizens of Castle Town came their prejudices.

The Sheikah were not popular with the old guard of Hyrule. Many remembered the bloody civil war that happened around the same time as Sheik's birth, and how a fraction of the Sheikah allied with the Interlopers, a tribe of evil warriors who drove Hyrule into despair with their dark magic and ruthless attacks.

The Sheikah who did not desert Hyrule were mostly killed in the war while defending the royal family, Impa and a few others being notable exceptions. The loyal Sheikahs' sacrifice could not overcome the effect of the initial betrayal, however, and so the remaining Sheikah fled back to their homeland of Termina.

_Just another reason I can't be with Link,_ Sheik thought as they stared despondently at their own reflection. _Link in a relationship with me would be like him courting a Deku Scrub... No, wait, they'd accept that. Deku are one of them. Deku never betrayed anybody._ Sheik slumped their head down on their arms, and began sobbing once more.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Link's eye is a nod to the Hero's Shade from TP.**


	13. Chapter 13: Don't Piss Off The Fairy

"What did you do?!" Navi flew around the house, anger radiating from her little body and practically turning her glow red. "The potion shop Granny just dropped off potions for you saying Sheik had to leave. He loves you, and you managed to scare him away!"

Link sighed. 'I told Sheik about my dreams, and that I thought he was my missing piece. Everything was fine until I kissed him.'

Navi's rage didn't subside. "Any dolt with eyes can see Sheik is in love with you, so there has to be something more to it. Maybe Sheik sees you as a little kid still. Like dating you would be a crime. Or maybe that you're too pure to be in love with another man."

'No, Navi. I get the feeling it's a lot deeper than that. Sheik wants to tell me something, I know it. I did sense him tremble when I said I couldn't tell if the figure in my dream was a boy or girl..."

Navi swooped in and collided with Link's forehead. "You melon head! Don't bring that up, you'll hurt his feelings! Sheik doesn't want people calling him feminine! Don't treat Sheik like some dainty little flower!"

Link scratched his head. 'What do you mean, 'don't bring that up'? What aren't you telling me, Navi?' Link looked around, confused, before he noticed Sheik's discarded wrappings. He then stared at the well worn cloth on the floor, and a thought came to him. 'Does it have something to do with that mask? When I pulled it down, all I saw was the most beautiful face in existence, far more beautiful than any I've seen on a man. At first I thought, well maybe Sheik was a woman. But then I corrected myself. Sheik is Sheik, and I think they're afraid to tell me that. It's almost as if Sheik is afraid I'll stop loving them if I find out. I don't care if Sheik was born a boy or a girl. I want Sheik back, and I swear I'll never mock them for being what they choose to be.'

"Then hurry up and get better so you can chase after your love!" Navi was proud. Link may have lost ten years of his life to slumber, but his mind had grown. "And the sooner you save Hyrule, the sooner you'll be able to cuddle up with him!"

Link swallowed down Granny's blue potion, and carefully rose from the bed. 'I intend to do more than that, Navi.'

* * *

><p>Link ignored the pain in his shoulder as he dressed himself, but was careful not to injure the charred arm further. He had the most trouble with his new visual perception, and kept bumping into things. Navi was helpful, warning him when he was about to knock something over, or correcting his aim when he reached for things.<p>

When he was content with his vision, he wandered outside. The sun had just set, and the glow of twilight permeated the sky. Night merchants had set up their tents, and while Kakariko Village night life was in no sense of the word grand, it was homey and provided one little comfort in the years after the Uprising began.

Navi flew in front of Link to provide him with some extra light as he wandered the streets. A woman stopped him and introduced herself as Anju. "My grandmother is the one who made potions for your recovery. You look good, I'm glad you were able to overcome the worst of it."

Link smiled and nodded, while Navi thanked her for both hers and her grandmother's hospitality. The pair continued on through the village, fielding handshakes and swoons from people who praised him for his courage. A few Gorons were even in town, and relayed their progress after escaping from the temple. But the person Link wanted to see the most was missing, even after he searched near the graveyard.

"What a nut case," he heard one man say to another as they passed Link on his way back to Impa's house. "Freaking out like that in the middle of town?"

"Yeah, I know. What kind of man sits in the open and cries? I wonder if it even is a man at all. I mean, you saw how girly the guy's face looked."

"Yeah, but all them red eyes look like that."

Link stopped in his tracks and glared at the two in front of him. _Red eye? They don't mean..._

"Naw, I think this one might've been a chick. Didn't you see how goo goo eyed they was when the hero was brought down from the mountain? That or it's a freak..."

That did it. Link marched up and grabbed the man, slamming him against the nearby house and punching him square on the jaw. When the man's companion tried to pull Link away, Navi flew out and spit in his eye.

"You heartless leever bait trash! What gives you the right to insult our friend for being upset, huh? Sheik is ten times the man you'll ever be, no matter what gender they decide to embrace! This town is standing because of the sacrifice of Sheik's ancestors, so take your boot licking friend and get the hell out of here before Link runs his sword through your gullets! And if I ever catch either of you in this town again, I'LL saw your manhoods off and feed them to the dodongos DO YOU HEAR ME?!"

The two ran off screaming from the little fairy's cursing, leaving their pride and a mouthful of blood behind. Link gave a terrifying and warning glare to the crowd that had gathered to investigate, before picking Navi up and retreating back into Impa's house. As the murmurs of the crowd died down and the people dissipated, a certain awe struck Sheikah came out from behind a lamp post, smiling for the first time that day.


	14. Chapter 14: Frozen With Fear

Sheik had gotten sick.

It didn't happen often, in fact they couldn't remember the last time they were this impaired. It was truly an evil curse that affected the Zora people- when Sheik had arrived to check on the sage, they found the Zora's Domain encased in ice. The sheer cold obliterated what few immunities Sheik had built up over the years- even the mountains of Snowhead weren't this unforgiving, and Sheik succumbed immediately to chills. They blamed it on the terrible shock that hit their system when they first saw what had happened.

"No, no no no!"

Sheik screamed as they ran through the chilly cave, searching desperately for the Zora princess. As evidenced with how he tried to eliminate Saria and Darunia, it was well within Ganondorf's style to kill the sages before they awoke.

Sheik could see the outlines of countless Zora beneath the thick ice. Shadow magic was no help here, so Sheik had to resort to instinct to locate the sage. _Where would Ruto be? ...Her father!_

Sheik sprinted up the stairs leading to the King's chamber, and was stunned at the sight before them. King Zora was frozen like the rest, but in some kind of moving red ice. Ruto was nowhere to be found, so Sheik moved forward into the fountain. King Zora could be easily melted, but if Ruto was buried beneath layers of ice, it would kill her sooner.

The fountain that once held Lord Jabu Jabu was now an icy graveyard. Sheik knew what to expect, but it didn't stop them from crying at the discovery. Frozen blue blood covered the deity's pedestal, leading into the water. Down below the unfrozen surface, Sheik saw a black and blue lump, unmoving and covered in gashes.

"No..." Sheik slumped to the ground in mourning. Jabu Jabu was a kind protector, and truly did not deserve such a gruesome fate. As the tears slid down their face, Sheik resolved to avenge him. The Zora people were not an aggressive race, and while they knew how to defend themselves, they preferred to fight with diplomacy. So Sheik vowed to use their strength as a Sheikah to punish Ganondorf for his misdeeds.

Sheik stood up and hopped across the ice chunks surrounding the pedestal. In the center of the fountain, they gathered all their magic. The sun was setting, and Sheik would be able to call upon the shadows in the unfrozen water to help locate Ruto.

"Shadow, I command you as your equal! Help me locate the Princess of Water!"

The shadow whirled around Sheik, settling on an area above the hill. A cave entrance sat just below, and Sheik deduced that Ruto was inside. But as they jumped across the icy platforms, a strong hit to their back knocked them into the water.

The water was colder than anything Sheik ever felt, and they were nearly paralyzed when they fell in. Coming to the surface, they discovered it was a lucky shot from an octorok that knocked them in. Scrambling up onto an ice block, they tossed a knife in its head before continuing into the cave.

It wasn't easy for Sheik to sneak through the Ice Cavern, because they had started coughing and thus gave away their position. _Damn that insufferable octorok! It just HAD to knock me into the water... _The freezards were easy to dodge, but more than once did keese dive down and freeze Sheik.

They eventually managed to find Ruto in the main room of the cavern, her hand barely sticking out from the ice. Sheik ran forth and used their meager fire magic to melt the ice, making it easier to shovel her out. Luckily she had just been frozen, and didn't take too long to return to consciousness.

"Ugh, what happened? Who are you?"

Sheik helped Ruto to her feet, then motioned for the exit. "You'll be all right, Water Princess. I am Sheik, though that does not matter. What does matter is your status as the Sage of Water. It is important that you answer the call and head for the Water Temple right away. The survival of your kin depends on it. I'll help your father, you go help your people."

"Sheik, you have my everlasting gratitude for saving me. I came to this cavern looking for the Great Fairy, she seems to have been chased out of her fountain by this terrible cold snap." Ruto looked around one more time before heading to leave. "It's so sad, we did nothing and yet that monster punished us by freezing our home."

"Your people are in danger, but I don't believe they will die before you defeat the creature in the temple. As for Ganondorf, have faith in Link."

"Link is alive?!" Ruto stopped in her tracks and rushed back to Sheik, hugging them in relief. "He's really here? Thank the Goddesses, we were all so worried for him! I used to think he avoided me because I told him to marry me, but I knew that wasn't the case."

Sheik tore themself away from the Zora. "He'll follow you to the temple, just go. I'll meet him here and point him in the right direction."

Ruto ran out of the cave, on her way to Lake Hylia. Sheik pressed inward through the cavern, looking for somewhere to rest that was not out in the open. Their coughing had gotten worse, to the point where they were expelling mucus, and it was getting hard to breathe in the sharp, icy air.

They finally came upon a door, leading to a wide open room. The walls were an eerie crystal pattern, and the floors were covered in snow, but it was enough. Sheik sensed a wolfos hiding in the snow, but it did not sense them. They crept along the wall until they reached the corner, then used shadow magic to blend in with the darkness. Shadow offered little warmth, so they pulled their knees into their chest and huddled in the corner. They could not suppress their coughing, but were far enough away that the wolfos could not hear.

_I'll just wait here until Link comes,_ Sheik thought to themself, closing their eyes and meditating about their situation. _He's bound to show up. All I need to do then is teach him the melody and leave. Any more contact than that, and I'll lose my resolve. Remember Sheik, he doesn't need the burden of loving you. You can admire him from afar. He'll be safer that way, you won't cost him any more eyes..._

* * *

><p>"An arctic wind is blowing from Zora's River...do you feel it?" Navi asked Link one day, while he was training in the Kakariko Graveyard.<p>

'My senses aren't as in tune with nature as yours, Navi, so how do you expect me to feel wind from this side of the mountain?' Link asked as he swung his sword at a model he had erected. His shoulder no longer stung as he moved, and he had sufficiently adjusted his aim to compensate for the useless eye. 'But if you feel something is off, then something must be off. Let's go.'

Granny flagged Link down as he was leaving the village. "Link, please take these with you, I feel they may come in handy." Link took the pouch in her outstretched hand. Inside were two bottles, one with an unfamiliar blue flame dancing inside. "The first bottle is salve for your burn. The second is an item I've had for ages. It's called blue fire, and it's said to melt the toughest ice. If you're going to investigate the home of the Zoras, you might want to take it with you."

Link nodded and tucked the bottles away. After Navi thanked Granny for all her help, the two set out for Zora's Domain.

They arrived to find an icy tomb, without a Zora in sight.

'Ganondorf... That bastard!'

Link ran down the path from the waterfall, a red block catching his eye from where the shop used to be. It felt like ice to the touch, so he let out a bit of the blue fire. The wall melted, and he found a lone Zora inside.

"You, you've melted that wall that trapped me in here! I owe you my thanks, but sadly I have little to offer. You're welcome to anything here, though..."

Navi flew over to a tunic hanging on the wall. "Is this like that Goron tunic you had, perhaps?"

The shopkeeper took it down and handed it to Link. "I don't know what good it will be now that the water is frozen solid, but here. It's made from a special fabric that lets people without gills breathe under water. If you go to the lake, maybe you'll be able to use it. But if our fountain has frozen over, then there may not be much water left..."

Link accepted the gift and went to investigate further. He found King Zora frozen in more red ice, so he used the rest of the fire to melt him. King Zora had no idea how the domain was frozen over, but he bade Link to search the fountain for answers. Link complied, and dashed into the fountain.

Link leapt across the ice chunks and into the Ice Cavern, determined to find the cause of the Zora's predicament. He cleared the cavern easily, after all it was only a single interconnected chamber. No clues to the cause of the ice were found apart from more of the blue fire, but he did find a map. It showed a room with a treasure near the exit, so Link followed the tunnel and found the room holding the Iron Boots.

Hoping to find an answer, he charged in. Inside was nothing but a solitary white wolfos, an easy enemy to dispatch. When the beast fell, he grumbled to his companion. 'That was a little too easy, don't you think, Navi? There's no way a white wolfos is the cause of the fountain freezing up. Let's go check the lake again, maybe we can-'

"AHHH! Great Goddesses, Link, look!" Navi screamed, and flew around Link's head until he turned around. He dropped his sword and shield in an instant when he saw what had given the little fairy such fright. Sheik was huddled in the corner, unconscious and with cheeks as blue as the ice.

'Sheik!'

Link ran over and gathered Sheik up into his arms, shocked at how cold they were. Their breathing was ragged and harsh, and the tempo was erratic. Navi buzzed around Sheik's head, her little hand recalling in horror when she felt their freezing temperature. "You've got to get him out of here, Link! He'll freeze to death!"

Link didn't waste time acknowledging the fairy, instead he pulled out his ocarina. Bundling Sheik up tightly next to him, he played the notes for the Minuet of Forest. The three then teleported out of the icy cavern, appearing in the mild Sacred Forest Meadow.

Link ran the whole way back to his home in Kokiri Village, Sheik pressed tightly against his chest. They had started to cough along the way, but remained out of it. He could tell they were going to make it, but it still scared him that there might be more damage to Sheik's body than he realized. Their pulse was slow, and their digits were icy.

When he got back to his house, Link immediately set about treating Sheik's hypothermia. He lit a fire in his fire pit to raise the cabin temperature, then started peeling Sheik's bandages and wraps away. All of their clothing was soaked, so Link had no choice but to disrobe them. Sheik's tabard came off easily, as well as their gauntlets and gaiters. Their shirt was rather tight, and the wetness of the fabric complicated removal. But Link was able to get it off, along with Sheik's tights.

Sheik had a pair of shorts on under their tights that were equally soaked, but Link didn't dare remove them. Even at such a crucial time as this, he didn't want to invade their privacy. So instead he wrapped them in a warm towel while he fetched a shirt. Link was wearing the blue tunic he received from the Zora shopkeeper, so he used his green one to cover Sheik.

The poor Sheikah was shaking terribly, so Link wrapped them in a big fur blanket. It was another recovery present from Granny, and he hoped it would be warm enough to help Sheik. He held them close as he rubbed warmth back into their fingers, wiped away their mucus, and dabbed red potion on the frostbitten areas of their face.

In no time, Sheik started to stir, though still too disoriented to understand what was happening or where they were. Their vision was blurry, but they were able to hear the soft notes of an ocarina playing a lullaby nearby.


	15. Chapter 15: Body Heat

**Note: Adult chapter! (But it's a pretty cute one.) Not all of the chapter is that way, but I really couldn't split it up anywhere else.**

* * *

><p>"...Pre...tty..."<p>

"Shhh..." A finger came up and pushed against their lips, before its owner leaned down and kissed their forehead. 'You need to conserve your strength. Rest.'

Sheik then realized they were sitting in the hero's lap, the two of them leaning against the wall of a small wooden cabin. "Can't... Zoras... frozen... Ruto..." Sheik was stubborn, trying to sit up and continuing to talk until Link gently clamped his hand over their mouth.

'Ruto is the Sage, right? I tried looking for her, but the man in the shop said everyone but he and the King were frozen under the ice. I take it you rescued her, and that's why I found you near death in that corner of the ice cave.' Link lifted Sheik's head up so they would make eye contact. Sheik sheepishly nodded.

'I thought so.' Link's face took on a sad expression, and he held Sheik tight. 'Don't scare me like that, Sheik. I felt like I was going to die when I saw you frozen like that. You were blue. _Blue._ Goddesses, I can't even describe what went through me.' The smile returned to Link's face when he looked into Sheik's eyes. 'I guess I really do need to chain you down, since you keep running from me. Well this time, I have a solution that should be agreeable to all.'

Sheik didn't understand what Link had meant, but before they got the chance to ask, their mouth was swallowed up by the hero's. His kiss was so warm that Sheik drew to it like a moth to a flame, and soon the two were covering each other in sloppy kisses. Link gently rolled onto the floor, laying Sheik on a fluffy bedroll.

'Last time, when you ran away from me,' Link said as he uncurled Sheik from the blanket, 'I thought maybe it was because I offended you. So tonight I'm going to prove to you that I want nothing more than to make you happy. I want you to know I love you, Sheik. I love you no matter what you are.'

"No- ohh..." Sheik protested, but was cut off as Link ran his hand up under the tunic, sliding along their chest and grazing one of their nipples.

'Is it okay for me to do that? Navi said you didn't want to be treated like a girl, but...'

Sheik rolled their head to the side, trying to understand what Link meant. _Not like a girl... Does... he know?_ "You mean, you know about me being-"

'I only know what I feel inside. Navi says you are a girl who wants to be a boy. I think you just want to be yourself. Whatever you choose to be, I'll love you the same. And don't think for a moment that I'll let anyone judge or intimidate you. If you want to be a boy or a girl, I'll stand by you. If you want to be neither, I'll make it happen. I'm saving Hyrule for _you_ Sheik, and I want people to know so. Hell, I threatened a pair of villagers and beat one of them bloody for insulting you, doesn't that tell you how sincere I am?'

Sheik reached up and traced the scar across Link's blind eye. Taking a deep breath, they decided to come clean. "I... I was never like the other Sheikah girls. I wanted to learn how to fight. I wanted to play in the mud. I never understood why I had to wear clothing across my chest when I had nothing to display. My body never took the shape of a woman's, and I've never bled like they do. I have no curves. I-"

'Will you make love to me?'

The Sheikah's eyes went as wide as their face would allow. "What did you-"

Link repeated himself with conviction. 'Make love to me. Please. I'll never force you to do something you don't like, but I know how deep your feelings run. You told me during that bolero in the volcano. So make love to me. Saria said making love is something lovers do to strengthen their bonds. And I want to do that with you. I just don't know how to do it, though.'

For the first time since meeting the hero, Sheik giggled. "You really do have the mind of a ten year old. But your body is mature, at least." Sheik reached down and brushed a hand against Link's hip, then lifted the edge of his tunic. With a smirk, they pulled open the top of his tights. "See?"

Link looked down, and blushed at the sight of his own body standing at attention. 'I... it's never done that before. Does everybody's stand up like that?'

"It's called arousal. Males get like that when they want to mate, or in your case, make love. Females don't have such things." Sheik was embarrassed, having to explain the birds and the bees to a man bigger than them. They started to say more, but were interrupted when Link laid his hand on their hip.

'So that means you don't have one...'

"No I don't!" Sheik snorted, rolling away from Link. "Do you have to rub it in? Besides, I don't want one, that would make me a boy. I just want to be myself. I don't care that I have female parts, so long as no one makes me act like a female!"

'You know I would never do that,' Link pouted, caressing Sheik's cheek. 'If you want to wait to make love until you're ready, I'll gladly wait. But, umm... do you know how to make it go back down?'

Sheik looked back at Link, unable to stay angry at him. The hero was fidgeting and trying to hide his arousal by poking it back down into his tights, clearly unaware of how manhood works.

"...I'll do it."

Link was taken aback as Sheik sat up and pulled off his tunic. "You did save me from an unpleasant death, after all." Next, Sheik tugged at the hero's tights, coaxing a sigh out of him as the pressure on his groin was released. They then pushed him over onto the bedroll, and pulled the tights the rest of the way off.

Link wasn't a perfect man by any means, but he was visually pleasing. The scars on his stomach had faded rather well, and his shoulder, while still bright red, lacked any of the charring common with burns. Sheik loved how smooth his skin felt, and how cute the small patch of blond hair hidden behind his arousal looked.

To be honest, Sheik didn't know much more than Link did when it came to pleasing a man, other than what she occasionally caught the Ikana grave keeper doing as a child. "How does this feel?" they asked, starting off with a light massage along the side of his arousal.

'I barely feel anything, just what I feel when I rub my arm. Maybe mine's broken...'

"Don't say foolish things like that, I'm having enough trouble concentrating as it is!" Sheik reprimanded, though with a soft voice. _He is too innocent for his own good,_ Sheik thought to themself. They repeated their action with a little more force, causing Link to moan. Sheik alternated motions, switching between squeezing and pinching. After a couple minutes of moaning and squirming, Link seized up, and Sheik's hand was covered in his release.

'Wh-what was that?' Link panted as he pulled his thoughts together. 'My whole body felt like it had been hit by lightning, and my mind went blank except for thoughts of you.' Link leaned up, and gasped when he saw what covered Sheik's hand. 'Oh Goddesses... did, did I make that mess on your hand?'

"The tension in your body came to a climax, and you expelled the energy in the form of your seed," Sheik explained, holding up their sticky fingers. "What you feel now is the afterglow. I imagine it's a lot like the feeling you get when you win a battle, but I can't say for sure as I've never-"

Sheik was once again interrupted, having been shoved against the floor with an over eager hero laying a trail of love bites around Sheik's neck. He slid his hands up their tunic and pushed it over their head, as well as gripping onto their shorts and pulling them away.

"Link! What are you doing?!"

'I want to give that feeling to you. I won't be the only one to experience something so wonderful.' Link looked down and took in Sheik's body. Things were about the same as his own body, with the earlier discussed exception, of course.

'Your body, it's so beautiful,' Link mumbled as he kissed Sheik's belly button, making them wiggle. 'What do I need to do to make you feel the same way? I mean, we don't have the same parts...'

Sheik was barely able to concentrate, as Link's hands were roving over all the right places. "Unn... th-there's a, a thing that feels like a little button... I'm not sure how to describe it."

'Here?' Link rubbed his fingers around the area between Sheik's legs, settling on the small bundle of nerves hidden in their folds. Sheik twisted and squirmed, moaning as Link increased his friction. 'There's a lot more under here, what if I did this?' Link used his other hand to rub the spot right below the first, varying directions as Sheik moaned.

'Sheik, it's getting really squishy down here. Where's this slickness coming from?'

"Hell if I know, hero! S-stop talking and keep that- ohhhh!" Sheik screamed as Link accidentally slipped his finger inside while rubbing. "What in the name of Hylia was that? It felt so..."

Link didn't answer, instead he pulled his finger out and shoved it back in. When Sheik moaned again, he repeated himself, curling his finger and rubbing their insides.

Sheik couldn't focus on their words. Link was giving them sensations they never imagined they could feel. Sheik had explored their own body once or twice in the past, but they only felt the kind of mildly pleasing sensation one would get from rubbing between their toes or along their ears. Now Link was setting off little explosions in their hips, and Sheik couldn't get enough.

"More..."

'You mean more fingers?' Link had a thought then, one that he thought was a little strange but Sheik might like. 'I can do more fingers, but, well, um...'

"What? Ohh, don't stop..."

'It might sound gross, but, I want to put my thing inside you. Can I?'

"Link, please! Do it, do something, I can't... Ahhngh!" Sheik grimaced and screamed as Link eased himself inside them. When he noticed their pain he tried to pull away, but Sheik caught him. "No... k-keep it there!"

'But you're in pain! Look, there's even blood down there, I have to stop.'

"NO!" Sheik grabbed Link and kissed him hard, this time being the one with the vice grip. "I want it, I want you, and I owe you for everything you've done. Keep going!"

'...But how do I? This is a lot harder to control this thing than my fingers- oof!'

Sheik shoved Link onto the floor and took the lead. Sliding themself up and down on his arousal relieved the initial sting of penetration, and soon the two were both panting and moaning in tandem.

'Sheik, I- I think I'm gonna... like before...'

"Me too... ah!" Sheik's whole body tensed, a wave of sensation going through them as they collapsed onto Link, feeling completely spent. Link shuddered a few seconds later, pulling Sheik close as they both slipped into the afterglow. Sheik passed out immediately, even before Link had a chance to remove himself. Link smoothed out Sheik's hair and wiped their forehead, just in time for Navi to come buzzing into the cabin.

"Hey, Link, I found some- Ehh!" The little fairy gasped as she saw Sheik sleeping naked on top of an equally naked Link. "Youuuuu! That's not how you're supposed to warm someone up! Melon head!" Navi came over and inspected Sheik's sleeping face, giving Link some choice glares that she knew he could not see from this angle. "Haven't you every heard of exhaustion? Or coercion for that matter? Bad boy, taking advantage of a poor, sick little Sheikah like that..."

Link smiled at the fairy, but otherwise ignored her complaints, choosing to nestle with Sheik and close his eyes. Navi continued poking at the hero, blaming him for everything from taking Sheik's innocence to being too young to do such things in the first place. But she was doing so in jest, for no one else supported the pair's relationship more than her.

When she noticed the hero had fallen asleep, she made sure to keep the cabin serene. The curtains were drawn shut, the now wooden door of the cabin was locked tight, the fire was enchanted so that it provided warmth without danger, and the lovers were tucked in tightly. Nothing was going to interrupt the Hero of Time and his Sheikah guide during this rare moment of peace, even if she had to fight Ganondorf herself.

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><p><strong>AN: Please don't take my account of how Sheik chooses to make love as a generalization toward non-binaries. I did a lot of research on the subject and came to the conclusion that Sheik would do what feels good. Since I connect with Sheik, I wrote what I like. There's a good wordpress blog by FTMark that helped me when writing this chapter, I recommend anyone interested in FTM awareness check it out.**


	16. Chapter 16: Dreams In Darkness

Link woke in the middle of the night to find Sheik shaking in his arms, tears running down the corners of their eyes. The look on their face was one of pain, too intense to be from a simple nightmare. Link gently shook their shoulder, trying to stir the terrified Sheikah. "Sheik? What's wrong? Wake up!"

Sheik's eyes snapped open, and as soon as they did, the Sheikah scrambled away from the hero.

Link reached out to them, alarmed when they yelped at his action. 'Sheik? What is it? Please tell me, you're scaring me!'

"...evil curse... dark... a solitary tree..."

Link tried again to calm Sheik, but to no avail. So he decided to try a sneak attack. Getting out of the bedroll and throwing a tunic on, he walked over to his hat atop the desk.

'Hey, Navi. I need your help.'

The fairy was none too happy to be stirred from her sleep. "Whadya want at this hour? Go back to cuddling with your-" She cut her sentence short when she saw Sheik panicking in the corner. "Great Deku Tree, what happened?"

'I dunno. I just woke up to find Sheik shaking and crying. I was thinking, maybe you could get close enough to see if Sheik is still sick from the ice cave?'

Navi nodded and flew over to Sheik, slowly so as not to startle them. Sheik seemed unaware of the fairy's presence, and the fairy was able to get close enough to feel their temperature.

"Ouch! Link, Sheik is on fire! He must be hallucinating from the fever, you have to help calm him down. I'll go find some more potion."

Link acknowledged the fairy, and tried his best to calm Sheik. 'Sheik? Are you in pain?'

"...red eyes... blood..."

'You have red eyes, is that what you see?'

Sheik shook their head, starting slowly but gaining speed as Link inched closer.

"**STAY BACK!**"

Link pulled back in shock, keeping away until Navi returned with a potion bottle. "From the shopkeeper. He says Sheik might have something called 'pneumonia', whatever that is. This'll help make the fever go away."

The hero nodded, but decided to try a slightly different approach. He pulled out his ocarina and started playing various songs in an effort to calm Sheik down. He noticed Sheik's shaking subside, though they remained apprehensive if he tried to come near. Navi got the idea of having Sheik join in with the songs, so she slowly inched Sheik's lyre closer to them.

Sheik did eventually pick up the instrument, but clutched it tight as one would do a security blanket. Link kept playing his ocarina, trying to entice Sheik into copying him. It worked, as Sheik mimicked the notes to the Sun Song. Link played a few more songs and Sheik copied, while Link used the opportunity to inch closer to them. He got next to them without any incident, and was about to hand them the potion when Sheik started strumming a song he didn't know.

"...time... like a river... love becomes... affection." They looked wide eyed up at Link, catching his blue eye. "Serenade..."

'A serenade? To lead me to my next destination?' Sheik nodded slowly at Link's words, and started playing the notes again. There were only five, and they were incredibly simple. But Link was on point, and suddenly understood what needed to be done.

'Navi, I have to go to the lake.'

The blue fairy balked. "But why? Look at Sheik! He's still in pain!"

'I have a feeling that the cause of Sheik's pain is inside that temple. Maybe if I help Ruto and free the Zoras, Sheik will get better. I want you to stay here, Navi. Keep Sheik company.' Link stood and gathered his equipment. Sheik remained leery, but allowed him to get close enough to kiss their forehead. 'Sheik, I love you, remember that. I'm going to the Water Temple to break the curse on the Zoras, and to stop whatever it is that haunts you. Stay here for me?'

Sheik's eyes wandered slowly around the room, but eventually settled on Link. "Be careful..."

'I will be. I will never leave you alone in this world, and for that you have my word.'

* * *

><p>Link played the Serenade of Water, touching down on the island in the middle of the dry Lake Hylia. 'Huh? But where's the temple?' he mumbled to himself, before noticing the obelisks protruding from the shallow water down below. Diving in to investigate, he discovered the entrance to the temple. With his hookshot and his new Iron Boots, he descended into the darkness of the lake.<p>

The temple interior was confusing at first, but Link worked out a plan when he discovered how deep it went. There was a path at the bottom that looked promising, and it turned out to be the right one- Ruto was standing at the end of the path.

"Oh...you... If I'm right...Link?! You're Link, aren't you? It's me, your fiancée, Ruto! Princess of the Zoras!"

Link scoffed. That engagement was supposed to be a ruse to fool King Zora. He never had any intention of marrying Ruto, especially not now since he found the love of his life in Sheik. 'Ruto! Where is the monster that haunts this temple?'

Ruto just kept staring at him. _Oh, crap, that's right. She can't understand me..._ Link motioned around, trying to mime "monster" and "curse". But Ruto didn't follow.

"I never forgot the vows we made to each other seven years ago! You're a terrible man to have kept me waiting for these seven long years... But now is not the time to talk about love... I'm sure you've already seen it! Zora's Domain- totally frozen! A young man named Sheik saved me from under the ice... But my father and the other Zoras have not... yet... I want to save them all! I want to save Zora's Domain!"

'I want to save Sheik!' Link yelled, once again deaf to Ruto's ears.

"You! You have to help me! This is a request from me, the woman who is going to be your wife! Link, you have to help me destroy the evil monster in the Temple, OK?!"

Link frowned at the mention of marriage again, but shook his head in the affirmative. _First things first, kill monsters. I can worry about her later._ He listened as Ruto explained how to change the water level, and watched her float up through the ceiling. Readying his gear, he pocketed his boots and followed.

Navigating the temple was easy once Link figured out how the ocarina panels changed the water level, but it was harder than he thought without Navi to help him identify enemies' weak spots. After a frightening journey across a room with falling platforms, he finally felt like he was getting closer to his goal of breaking the curse. Taking out a Like Like (after being eaten once, a feeling he never wanted to experience again), he pushed onward into what his map signified was a major chamber, hoping to find answers inside.

* * *

><p>Navi flew around the cabin, preparing a light meal for Sheik. Her fairy magic allowed her to manipulate things much bigger than herself, so she had set a pot atop the fire pit, and used it to make soup from the shopkeeper's potion and a few vegetables Link had growing outside. "You'll like this, Sheik, it's got a lot of nice leeks and greens in it."<p>

Sheik had remained catatonic, and nothing Navi said or did would make them calm down. Navi did manage to get Sheik dressed a few hours ago, but no further progress had been made.

Navi gathered a bowl of soup and flew over to Sheik, setting it on a small stool that would substitute for a table. "Sheik... Link's terribly worried about you, you know? If you tell me what your dream was about, maybe I can help fix it?"

Glancing at the fairy, Sheik slowly reached out for the spoon, smiling when they saw the little vegetables floating in the broth. "Green..."

"Yeah, like Link! Was your dream about him?"

"Yes... no... I don't... but he was there?" Sheik looked around the cabin after finishing the bowl. The potion seemed to have worked, as Sheik's eyes were no longer glossed over. "Where is he?"

"He went to the Water Temple to break the curse on you and the Zoras. He's probably almost-"

Sheik suddenly stood up and screamed, dropping the bowl and shattering it on the floor. "No, no no no no no no! That thing is there, it will kill him! We have to bring him back, he won't survive!"

Navi flew up on alert. "What?! What thing? Who will kill him?"

"A rogue demon, a monster born of shadow magic yet with no ties to the forces of good that created it. It only needs to encounter an opponent once before it flawlessly mimics their every move! It's deadly, it's unbeatable, and Ganondorf let it out of its confinement! Navi, Link is going to be killed by his own shadow!"


	17. Chapter 17: Dark Link

**Note: This chapter is not explicit, but there are mentions of rape.**

* * *

><p>Inside the large chamber was nothingness. No walls, no ceiling, no creatures, nothing but a single dead tree. Even the two entrances to the room seemed to sprout from nowhere. Link crossed the room slowly, well aware that evil can spring from anywhere. He reached the opposite side with no more information that what he started out with, so he turned back to the tree.<p>

It was dark, dead, and ominous. Link recalled Sheik mumbling about darkness and a tree, so perhaps their suffering did start here. But where?

He got his answer when he took a few more steps toward the center. A figure was where it hadn't been before, and as Link approached, he saw it was himself.

'What in the name of Farore...?'

"HIYAAGH!" The figure shouted as it smashed into Link, knocking him backwards and into the water. Link rolled away just in time to avoid a sword in his face, and scrambled to his feet.

"Aww, what's this, is the little hero afraid of his own shadow?"

Link was taken aback. That voice, it, it sounded just like...

"I hope you enjoy your present, hero. My last phantom was a disappointment, but this one is anything but." Ganondorf. Link dodged another thrust, but missed the shadow's second, grimacing as it pierced the side of his burnt shoulder. The shadow demon was agile, dodging every attack Link sent its way. He ran around the shadow, getting in a few lucky strikes but nothing strong enough to take it down.

"Just ask your Sheikah friend." Link stopped in his tracks, face and ears turning red with anger. Ganondorf knew about Sheik? "She can tell you REAL WELL what he's capable of, after all she was his sacrificial lamb last night. I wonder, was she terrified when she woke this morning in your arms? The first thing she saw being a visual match to the terror that raped her in her dreams?"

Link's scream at that moment was so deafening, it was a wonder Ruto could not hear it from the Chamber of Sages. Saria told Link once about the crime called "rape". It was the opposite of making love, and it created a wound that the victim could never recover from. Link may not have understood exactly what had happened to Sheik, but he knew it was something bad. Link threw his weapons aside and lunged at the shadow, grabbing it by its neck and squeezing as hard as he could. Angry tears slid down his face, and curses he didn't even realized he knew filled his mind. This thing hurt Sheik, therefore it must die.

The shadow was caught off guard. It had taken its copy of Link during the battle with Phantom Ganon, and what it saw there was a headstrong warrior with an exploitable soft side. The man currently crushing the life from it was not that same warrior. The shadow knew a protective rage lived inside him, as evidenced with how he reacted when the forest girl was threatened. But the protective rage showing itself now was more beastly, more like what the Triforce of Power would grant its wielder.

"Heh... How noble, the Hero of Time avenging his Sheikah mate..." Link had enough of Ganondorf's commentary, and so he grabbed the shadow's head and twisted it as far as it would go. The shadow continued wriggling even after its neck snapped, stunning Link. Using the confusion, it pushed the hero off itself and stood to attack.

"Stupid mortal... you can not kill a being of shadow so easily." Ganondorf's voice had disappeared, and in its place was a scraggly tenor. "We will snuff out your light, and with it the hope of Hyrule."

'You will pay for what you did to Sheik, and I will be the one to collect,' Link hissed, rearming himself. This time he waited for the shadow to come to him. He had a plan. If this was his shadow, and it was created by Ganondorf, then there was only one or two times he could have studied Link's fighting patterns. And both of those times were when he had two working eyes.

Link dodged the shadow's lunge and countered with a diagonal strike, aiming from the bottom and turning so it looked like he was striking off center. The shadow took the bait, moving to block on his right. At the last second Link corrected his stance, slicing through the opening on the shadow's midsection. When the shadow fell back, Link leapt into the air and drove the Master Sword straight down through the shadow's head.

The room around them started to dissipate, and Link could start to see the outlines of the walls. "You win this time, hero, but remember, everything has a shadow..." The creature hissed before disintegrating with the rest of the room. Link remained in a heap on the floor, trying to come to terms with what he had just experienced. Ganondorf knew about Sheik. Ganondorf knew the two cared for each other. And Ganondorf had Sheik raped in their dreams, the one place he knew Link couldn't protect them.

* * *

><p>Sheik and Navi materialized on the island in the center of Lake Hylia. Sheik was in too big a panic to arm themself fully, and instead had simply thrown their knife belt on overtop Link's tunic and skipped their mask and wrappings. They ran towards the temple entrance, but as they reached the edge of the island, the lake began to fill.<p>

"As the water rises, the evil is vanishing from the lake..." Sheik murmured, making Navi zoom over to inspect. "Link, you did it!" the little fairy cried, coaxing a small smile out of Sheik. The pair turned around when a heavenly hum filled the air, and watched as Link returned from the Sacred Realm.

Link wearily stepped off the platform, his eyes widening as he saw his friends standing before him. "Did Ruto want to thank me?" Sheik asked softly, though it was obvious Link wasn't paying attention. He ran over and embraced them, dropping to his knees and burying his head in their stomach.

"Link?" Sheik noticed Link's tears, and laid their cheek against the top of his head. "You have the face of someone who has endured the ultimate pain. I take it you found out... about that shadow."

Link sat up and nodded. He pulled Sheik closer to himself in a protective embrace. 'I'm so sorry, Sheik. Ganondorf, he... he knows about you. He sent that thing into your dreams to r... rape you, and I couldn't stop it.'

"Don't think like that, hero." Sheik sat down on the ground with Link, and motioned out to the lake. "Look at that, Link... Once again, the lake is filled with pure water. All is as it was here, thanks to you. You've cleared the forest of infestation, delivered the Gorons from death in the belly of a fiery dragon, and eliminated the parasite that cut off the land's water supply, all within the span of a few months." They touched their forehead to Link's. "What happened to me was inconsequential. I can handle a few bad dreams, so long as I know their creator will be brought to justice. It's fine."

'NO IT'S NOT FINE!' Link screamed, startling both Sheik and Navi. Too angry for further words, he picked up Sheik and withdrew his ocarina, playing the Minuet of Forest and transporting back to the Sacred Forest Meadow. Sheik and Navi stayed silent, too bewildered to ask questions.

When Link arrived in his house in Kokiri Village, he sat down on his bedroll and started cradling Sheik. 'He hurt you. He hurt the one thing I can't bear to see hurt. You scared me this morning, Sheik. You were crying and shaking, your temperature was boiling, and you wouldn't respond when I called to you. I don't know what you went through in the past, but you're with me now, and I'm going to protect you. So don't think of yourself as disposable, or as a tool. When it comes to you, no damage is inconsequential. You're my partner, my lover, my mate. More valuable than any divine gift, even the Triforce.'

Sheik couldn't help feeling overjoyed at the hero's outburst. "You know... even if you say that, it will take time to overwrite a whole nineteen years' worth of being considered unimportant..."

'I'll be proving it to you every day, you have nothing to worry about.'

* * *

><p>...<p>

* * *

><p>"GRRAAAAHH!"<p>

A heavy wooden chair slammed into a large mirror, shattering it and sending pieces flying around the Gerudo king's throne room. "THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO DO HIM IN! HOW DID HE OVERCOME HIS OWN SHADOW?!"

The iron knuckles guarding the door glanced at each other, the stalfos captains shivered, and Marin held close to Agahnim, hiding in his robe and guarding her stomach. They all knew- nothing could soothe Ganondorf when he was enraged.

Agahnim cleared his throat, trying to come up with an explanation that might save the furniture. "Master, the boy appears to have been partially blinded at some point along his journey, after you exposed the shadow to him. It would definitely alter his fighting technique if he lost part of his vision, so perhaps the shadow's loss has something to do with how-"

Marin screamed as a few more chairs and desks were sent flying through the room, some breaking overtop the stalfos' heads. Ganondorf kept up his destruction, until an idea came into the demon king's mind.

"That shadow, perhaps I was on the right path but in the wrong direction. The boy has already freed three sages, correct?" A few shaky nods came from the iron knuckles, who survived the onslaught thanks to their armor. "In that case, pure hell awaits him next, even without my intervention. Let's see how he enjoys that hell once the 'terror of the Shadow Temple' is released from its confinement!"

Agahnim gasped. He may not ally with Impa, but he was still Sheikah, and the demon sealed beneath the well was their greatest enemy. "Master, are you sure you can convince the demon to join your cause? It is ruthless and will kill everything in sight, including your own people!"

"Oh, I'm sure, I feel it in my blood. This demon WILL obey the rightful king of Hyrule!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Grah, it bothers me how this site handles formatting...**


	18. Chapter 18: 'His name was Agahnim'

**Note: This chapter is not explicit but there are mentions of torture.**

* * *

><p>"You're not concerned that people will judge you for being with me?" Sheik asked Link as he brushed the hair from their eyes, the two of them recovering in the afterglow of a well needed round of love making. They both needed to forget what had happened, and this was the best way to do it.<p>

Link shook his head at Sheik's question, and started planting kisses all over Sheik's face, earning a smile when he kissed their nose. 'Nope,' was his only reply. He resumed his kissing, laying one on each of Sheik's eyelids.

"People will say you are homosexual!"

'I don't know what that means, but sure, why not.'

"It means someone who likes the same sex. It means you'll be mocked, people will lose faith in you! People will say the hero of Hyrule is abnormal!"

'Doesn't matter to me. Besides, we're not the same sex.' Link was teasing Sheik now, hugging them tight and rubbing his cheek against theirs. "I'm a Link. You're a Sheik. Links make love to Sheiks, just like boys make love to girls, girls make love to other girls, boys make love to other boys, girls who want to be boys make love to other-'

"Stop, I get it! ...Whoever has their missing piece, right?" Link grinned and nodded. His ideas were so innocent, and were truly those of a noble child who spent his growing years amongst the Goddesses in the Sacred Realm. Maybe the Three did mean for the two of them to be together...

Morning came too quickly for Sheik. They wanted nothing more to spend the rest of their days in the embrace of their hero, with no worries or problems to get between them. They closed their eyes and thought back to the previous night. Link looked devastated when clutched tightly to them after emerging from the Sacred Realm. Ganondorf must have taunted him over what the shadow had done. But did the hero know the whole story?

"Link... You're too precious for your own good," Sheik mumbled into the sleeping hero's chest. Navi flew over when she realized Sheik was up, and ducked under the blanket with snuggle with them.

"So, hun, you need to tell me what happened."

"I would think from the way I was acting when I woke, it would be obvious..."

"Well, it's not." Navi crawled up and laid across Sheik's collar bone. "I have to tell you, between you and me, Link is still that ten year old I met in the forest. Sure, his mind apparently aged in the Sacred Realm. But he's not that experienced, and he has a lot of the world ahead of him. He barely figured out how to properly make love to you, so how is it that he understood what it is to be raped? How did he know you were in such agony?"

Sheik looked at Link's sleeping face before answering Navi. He no longer looked like a man just entering adulthood, instead like one who had seen far too many bloody struggles. But when he slept, especially when he held Sheik like a teddy bear, he showed the signs of his age. He was peaceful, carefree, and innocent. "I guess Saria told him what rape was around the same time she told him what it was to make love... He's so protective, it must be why the Goddesses chose him as their hero."

Navi accepted Sheik's explanation. "I know rape doesn't have to be physical to be scarring. In your case, I feel like you've been attacked so many times that you've been worn raw. I'll bet that's part of the reason Link gets upset when you think of yourself as disposable. We both love you, and we don't want you to live up to your own expectations. After all, they always say those who expect to get stepped on, do."

"You two are trying to wring my past out of me, aren't you?" Sheik joked, ruffling Navi's short blue hair with their finger. "Don't act like it was all rotten. I have some good memories too, you know."

'Such as?' Link was wide awake now, his innate interest in his love's past stirring him awake and greatly outweighing his desire for sleep. He kept nuzzling Sheik, blowing on their ears and tickling their belly until they responded.

"Okay, okay, stop tickling me! I wasn't born in Hyrule, but rather the land beyond the forest called Termina. Termina has a central city, called Clock Town, where every year a festival is held to honor the land around the people and to pray for bountiful harvests." Sheik smiled at the recollection of their homeland. "It's called the Carnival of Time."

'So the town is named after this festival?'

"Yes and no. It's really named for the giant clock that stands in the exact center of Termina. I lived in Ikana Canyon, far to the east of Clock Town. But I got to go the carnival once, when I was six years old. I had such fun there, it was like heaven for me."

'The first thing I'm going to do when Ganondorf is dead is take you to the Carnival of Time,' Link announced, rolling himself over so that he was lying atop Sheik and Navi and hugging them practically to the point of unconsciousness. 'All three of us can go. If you want, we'll even move to Termina. Do you want to live there again? I'll bet it's more comforting than Hyrule is, especially to a Sheikah.'

Sheik twirled a finger in their bangs. "It's hard to say if Hyrule is comforting. All I've ever known was the Hyrule touched by Ganondorf's evil reign. Impa told me that Kakariko Village was welcoming to the Sheikah before, but now with all the Castle Town folk there, the village is very off putting. I would like to see how Hyrule treats me when it's not in peril, but I feel as though once an outsider, always an outsider."

'Then it's settled. You, me, and Navi will move to Clock Town when this is all over. Who knows, maybe in the future we'll even start a family,' Link said with a grin, scooting himself closer to Sheik's waist before Navi smacked him away and started flying into his head.

"Stop treating Sheik like a girl, you lecher! And get your mind out of your loins, you hyper active teenage brat!" Navi winked at Sheik after tearing into Link, letting the Sheikah know she was teasing him.

'Ouch! Stop hitting me Navi, I didn't mean it that way! We can adopt, we don't have to make our own baby! Though, I don't even know how to make a baby, to be honest...'

Sheik and Navi both exploded into laughter, with Sheik being hit so hard they were crying. When Sheik finally caught their breath, they kissed Link's nose. "You precious, naive boy, what exactly did you think we were doing last night?"

Link sat up, the blush on his face nearly the color of Sheik's eyes. 'Wait, you're telling me that making love is how you make babies? We've been doing that?'

Sheik smiled, but then their smile faded into a blank stare. "No, Link, we haven't..." Sheik stood from the bedroll and walked to the window, Link's tunic hastily thrown over their torso. "I mentioned this to you before, but I suppose I should elaborate. I have the exterior parts of a woman, but I will never be one. My womb does not work, if I still even have it to begin with. Things happened to me in the past, after I let it be known that I did not want to be either male or female. And one of those things was that I was... examined."

Link didn't like the way Sheik had withdrawn, and he knew the slight shivering he saw was not from any cold. He thought over in his mind whether to ask Sheik if they were raped as a child. He really didn't know what happened during a rape, only that it hurt the victim immensely. Stirring those memories back up might make things worse. But Sheik seemed to be more at ease when they talked with Link.

'Sheik...'

"His name was Agahnim. He wasn't a Terminan Sheikah, but he was well known amongst the Sheikah settled in Ikana. He was about ten years older than me, though he kept himself covered in public so you could never really figure out his age.

"I was an orphan, passed around different families and shelters. I never knew my real birthday, but something always told me it was the same day as the Carnival of Time. I was turning seven, and so I hoped to go to Clock Town to celebrate. But one of the housewives insisted I spend some time with Agahnim, so that he could 'fix me'. I told them I didn't want to be fixed, since nothing was wrong with me. I just wanted to go to the Carnival."

Sheik started crying, silent tears that Link wouldn't have noticed had he not gotten up and stood next to them. "I just wanted to go to the Carnival..."

'What did he do to you? It's okay, I won't think any less of you. I love you, Sheik. No matter what happened.'

Sheik nodded and sat on the window sill. "Did you see the scar below my navel? He... cut me open to see what I looked like inside. I was awake while he did it, and I've never felt pain as intense as that moment, even when I saw you emerge from the volcano.

"I was a carving block to him, something for him to practice his torture methods on. It lasted three days, before he finally sewed me up and tossed me back out on my own. Naturally I couldn't go back to our town, to the very same people who put me in his grasp in the first place. That's how I ended up living in Ikana Graveyard with the old grave keeper. He didn't mind me hanging around so long as I did the chores at night. He was afraid of ghosts and wouldn't move from his cabin once the sun went down. By keeping the shadows away from the grave keeper, I impressed the Garo warriors whose souls remained in the Canyon. They taught me how to embrace my Shadow heritage, and I was able to make friends with them and the troops of Skull Keeta. They even taught me a song to make the rain fall, after they found out how much I love thunderstorms."

Sheik looked back at Link with a smile, but was startled by the amount of rage he wore on his face.

'Tell me he is dead.'

"Who is dead?"

'Tell me that the bastard who hurt you is gone from this world, else I will hunt him down and send him to hell myself.' Sheik was scared now, more than alarmed by Link's sudden change in attitude. 'Tell me.'

"Link, I do not know what happened to Agahnim, but what is in the past should remain in the past. I know how badly you want to protect me, but please think of yourself as well. Don't turn yourself into a cold blooded killer." Sheik kissed Link's good eye and hugged him tightly. "For what it's worth, I never heard of him again after what happened. The Shadows don't whisper about his actions anymore."

Navi flew around the cabin, staring at the parts of the room where the light was absent. "You mean these dark patches talk to each other? How silly." Her comment made Sheik and Link smile, and the two held each other close.

'It looks like I need to learn to control my temper when it comes to defending you,' Link mused, and Sheik nodded. "A hero with a temper is no hero at all."

'I would think a hero with a strong desire to protect his soulmate would be in demand.'

Sighing, Sheik conceded and nuzzled into Link's chest. "You should spend the day at rest, my hero. Tomorrow we go to Kakariko Village, and you will need every second of sleep you can gather for the road ahead. It is my fault for waking you with my recollections of home, anyway."

'Not at all, I like hearing about where we're going to spend our future.'


	19. Chapter 19: The Terror Beneath The Well

"Let me teach you something, in return for how you've taken care of me," Sheik said to Link as they prepared to leave the Kokiri village. "The ghosts of Ikana taught this song to me, and it's one of my favorite melodies. The thousand years of raindrops summoned by our song are our tears. The thunder that strikes the earth is our anger. You who do not fear the dead, learn well the song I play... Listen to the Song of Storms!"

Sheik strummed the strange somber yet upbeat song on their lyre, with Link joining in on the second repeat. Just as the two finished, a thunderstorm broke out and startled the little fairy sleeping in Link's hat.

"YIPE! What was that, _thunder?!_ You made it rain with a song?"

"Yes, Navi. Anger and sadness are powerful, and harnessing those powers can make one strong. But the song is only effective if the one playing it has a pure heart. Otherwise nothing will happen."

'So that's where I've heard this song before,' Link mumbled as Sheik spoke with his fairy. 'The weird guy in the windmill with the hurdy gurdy thing plays a song very similar to this one. But it never rains in Kakariko from his playing...'

When the trio set out and reached the edge of Hyrule Field, Link decided to introduce Sheik to Epona. Sheik was not too familiar with horses, since they were rare in Termina and even rarer in Hyrule after the Uprising. But the mare was patient, and let Sheik pat her head and feed her from their palm.

'She's a really nice horse. I met her when I was little. Then after I healed up from the Fire Temple, I ran into her ranch's owner in the village. He told me what Ganondorf did to their family, so when I went to help them, his daughter gave me Epona as a thank you.' Link then demonstrated the horse's favorite song on his ocarina. 'She comes when you play this song.'

Link helped Sheik up onto Epona's saddle, then settled in behind them. 'I'll hold onto you, but you might want to hold her reigns as well. She's pretty fast.' He didn't need to repeat himself as Epona took off, for Sheik immediately clung to his arms.

As they approached the mountain path to the village, Sheik started to twitch. "Something's wrong, Link. I feel... uneasy. Like the shadows are trying to tell me something. Hurry to the village!"

As soon as Epona crossed the river, a large stalfos jumped out at them, knocking Link and Sheik from the saddle. Sheik landed closer to the path, so Link urged them onward.

'Sheik, go! Check on the village, I'll take care of this!'

Sheik nodded and sprinted up the stairs. Once through the city gate, their uneasiness was confirmed when they were greeted by a series of flames. Several houses were on fire, including their own.

"NO!" Sheik screamed, rushing forward to help.

A number of the villagers were huddled near the gate, and one called out to Sheik as they went past. "Sheik, thank the Goddesses!" It was Anju the cucco lady, one of the few villagers who treated them kindly. "You have to help! All of a sudden, lightning bolts came from the sky and hit some of the houses. Lady Impa says it's an attack from the evil king!"

Sheik jumped when Anju mentioned their elder. "Impa, she's here?! Where?"

"Over here, young one!"

Sheik wasted no time, running to the source of the voice. Impa stood in front of the well, hands extended in an effort to call forth her shadow magic. "We have a big problem, young one. Ganondorf has lent his strength to the terror beneath the well!"

"Not Bongo Bongo, how could he do that? You sealed him away all those years ago!"

"I do not know how he damaged the seal, my child. But we have to rebuild the seal. You take over from this end, I'll go to the temple and work from there."

The realization of the situation suddenly hit Sheik, and they gripped their elder's arm. "B-but, if you go to the Shadow Temple, then that means that you'd be the-"

"Yes, love. Only a Sheikah can be the sage, and we are the only two left in Hyrule who fight for the Light. Besides, I can not have you go, not when you're the reason our hero keeps fighting for Hyrule." With an understanding smile, Impa wiped away the tear that had fallen down Sheik's face. "The hero is a good match for you, he will support you when I can not. We knew this day would come, child, do not let yourself be sad."

"...I always planned to be the one to go, that's why it hurts so much," Sheik admitted with tears in their eyes. "I gained a lover, sure, but I'm losing my only parent, the only one who understood me when no one else would even dare to approach me."

"Don't think of it as a loss, think of it as a parting. When Ganondorf is defeated, you can visit me in the Sacred Realm." Impa hugged Sheik one last time. In an effort to cheer them up, she added, "Besides, should you ever choose to raise a family, I'll be wanting to see my grandchildren. Take care of the Princess for me!"

Sheik laughed through their tears at Impa's joke, and let their elder leave for the Shadow Temple. _Be safe, Impa. We will meet again... _Focusing their grief into anger, they turned and directed all their energy and magic into the well.

"I will not let you free, you DEMON!" The demon growled as a taunt, pushing back the energy Sheik was sending at it. Sheik was starting to make progress, but was distracted when she heard rapid footsteps and fairy wings behind them.

"Get back, Link!"

No sooner had the words escaped their mouth did the wood over the well go flying, hitting the ground nearby and scaring some of the villages working to douse the flames. Sheik winced as they felt the seal on the well break, and then screamed as they were suddenly picked up into the air.

Sheik could see the demon clear as day from their connections with the shadow magic, and watched as it materialized bit by bit. The hand that grabbed them shook them wildly, tossing them about in every direction until finally letting go, sending them sailing through the air. Sheik tried to regain control during the fall but it was too late, and they slammed headfirst onto the ground.

Sheik was not completely unconscious, since they heard Navi screaming and felt Link kneeling down next to them to check their condition. But their hearing was soon drowned out by the slithering of Bongo Bongo as he sized up the town. When they opened their eyes, they saw Link out in front of them, sword and shield drawn in a defensive stance, ready to attack the purple blur of the demon.

"Li... nk...!" Sheik tried to warn Link, but to no avail. Bongo Bongo grabbed Link and threw him about, much the same way as he did to them, and all Sheik could hear were Link's screams. Everything went black then.

* * *

><p>"Looks like you're coming around..."<p>

Sheik opened their eyes to find Navi floating above their forehead. "Don't move, I know this is gonna burn so I'm warning you now." Sheik felt the sting of red potion wiped across their head, followed by the quick revolutions of Navi as she wrapped their head with gauze.

When they looked around for Link, they found him at their hand, splinting a very clearly broken bone. "Link..." He looked up and smiled at Sheik. His only injury appeared to be a small cut below his blind eye, so it was Sheik who took the brunt of the monster's rage.

'We got all the houses put out. The rain from your song really helped. Granny says once I get your arm splinted, she can have it healed in a week, and Navi's fixed up the big cut on your head.'

Sheik closed their eyes and shivered. "Link... A terrible thing has happened. The evil shadow spirit has been released. Impa had sealed the evil shadow spirit in the bottom of the well. But the force of the evil spirit got so strong, the seal of the well broke, and it escaped into the world..."

'I'll kill it, don't worry.'

"No, I am worried. Impa has gone to the Shadow Temple to seal it again, but... she will be in danger without any help."

'Then I'll go help.'

"NO!" Sheik clung to Link. "No, you can't go in there, not yet. Link, the Shadow Temple is the scariest place a Hylian can ever go. It's like going into the underworld itself. There are countless spectres in there that sap your life energy, that feed off you until you are no more than a rotting redead. It used to be a prison for the royal family before the Sheikah reclaimed it. But there are still horrors in there, horrors that can't be seen..."

Link held Sheik's quivering shoulders. 'Sheik, calm down. Whatever it is, I can handle it. But if you think I can't, then I'll do what you need me to do in order to get strong enough.'

Sheik took a few deep breaths, before sharing their thoughts. "There is one thing you can do, but I don't recommend it... Impa sealed the demon in the well right after the Uprising, but before that... t-there used to be a house here, where a Sheikah criminal who kidnapped children lived. When he was caught, they cut off his hands and executed him. One of the kids he kidnapped was known to be the guardian of the truth, a Terminan Sheikah. The criminal kept the kidnapped children tied up in the basement. The poor little girl who guarded the truth never made it out, but I know she left her trinket behind. Perhaps you could find it..."

'I'll put the Master Sword back and investigate the well, then.' Link helped Sheik up to Impa's house, and handed them over to Granny's care. 'Wait here. I'll be back soon, okay?'

Sheik nodded as Link kissed them good bye. "Be careful, hero. That well is horror incarnate. I've seen... I mean I-I've heard rumors about a zombified creature hidden below the town, with arms that can reach almost any corner. If you find such a thing, stay calm, and face your fear. It can't best your courage."


	20. Chapter 20: Torture

**Note: This chapter contains violence, shouting, and a creepy mask salesman! You have been warned!**

* * *

><p>Link stepped off the warp pedestal in the Temple of Time, the notes of the Prelude of Light fading from his ears. Navi whizzed ahead, stopping and hovering around the Pedestal of Time.<p>

"Hey, don't you think Sheik was acting a little off? I mean, I know he's gotten protective of you since you two made it official, but even so. This well can't be that bad." Navi sat down on Link's shoulder as he drew the Master Sword from his back and plunged it into the pedestal.

'I'm not sure, Navi. Sheik is under a lot of stress lately, between the pneumonia, those awful dreams, losing their only parent, and now being attacked by that shadow monster,' Link said as he drew his Kokiri sword. 'The way Sheik grimaced when they talked about the well was painful. We better hurry and find that trinket so we can get back to their side. I'm just wondering why they're so certain it's down there if it's only a legend...'

Link went to step down from the pedestal, but fell flat on his face. It took him a few minutes to understand why- his full vision had returned. 'Navi...'

"Yeah, I noticed, all your injuries and scars are gone. Makes sense, after all you get blinded seven years from now as an adult. Your burn is gone, too," she added as she flew inside his shirt. "But you retain all your memories, how strange. Anyway, let's get going."

* * *

><p>Once he got his bearings, Link ran out of the temple into the market, and was slightly startled by all the merry people. <em>That's right. I've arrived just before Ganondorf seized the Triforce. These poor people don't know what's to come...<em> He walked into traffic, but wasn't paying attention as he tripped over a small white dog.

"HEY! YOU BRUTE! HOW DARE YOU HURT MY POOR LITTLE RICHARD!" the dog's owner screamed at him, picking him up by the ear and smacking him over his hind quarters. He recognized her as one of the women who helped care for his shoulder after Sheik left. "Bad little boy, watch where you're going, especially with that dangerous knife on your back!"

'Sorry,' he mouthed, running into the closest shop to escape further spankings. As soon as the door was closed, he sighed and sat on the floor. Being a child again was tough.

"Oh my, you've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?"

Link jumped back when a round face suddenly invaded his vision. An overly jolly man bounced back and forth around him, studying Link intently. He grabbed Link's chin and ran a finger over his right eye, then yanked him up and pulled down the left sleeve of his tunic.

"Oh yes, a terrible fate indeed. Time is your ally, but it is not your friend. The scars you earn in the future may not follow you to your past, but they are always present."

"Hey, let him go, you creep!" Navi yelled as she repeatedly slammed into the strange man's face. The man got angry, opening his eyes and mouth wide to form a Cheshire cat grin.

"FAIRIES WAIT THEIR TURN!" he barked, scaring Navi and making her duck into Link's hat. "...Now then, as I was saying before I was so RUDELY INTERRUPTED, ahem. You are a special one, hero, quite special indeed."

Link raised his eyebrow at this strange man. There's no way he worked for Ganondorf, he was far too whimsical. But how did he know about the injuries?

"And I might just have a special mask for you, one that should help with your coming trial..." The creepy man motioned to the shelf behind him, where an array of children's masks sat on display. A fox, a skull, one that resembled a redead, a Zora, a Goron, a Gerudo? A turtle, some kind of boar, a bird... _Wait, was that a-?_

Link jumped up and ran over to the mask on the end. It was a white mask, with a prominent Eye of the Sheikah painted on the front.

"Ah, the hero has a good eye. It is a mysterious mask, one that belonged to a Sheikah tasked with the horrific burden of guarding truth and lies. I take it you want to know how it came into my possession? You see, the Sheikah are originally from my homeland..."

'Termina,' Link said, though the creepy man did not understand him. He had heard of the land from Sheik. It was their homeland, a place where simple things like masks and songs carried a lot of magic power. If Link was going to be diving into the heart of Sheikah terror, he needed every advantage he could get.

The creepy man blocked Link's way as he reached for the mask. "Ah ah, not so fast hero. Nothing is free, you know, even for the Hero of Time. I will give this to you, if you do something for me." Link narrowed his eyes, but listened to the man's proposition. "You see, there is something hidden in the village at the foot of the mountain, something I greatly desire. You will already be in the place where it's located, so it should be no hardship to collect it for me..."

Navi poked her head out of Link's hat. "The thing you want... is in the bottom of the well?"

"Why yes, Miss Fairy," he grinned, showing his pointed teeth. "Isn't that convenient? All you have to do is fetch the small casket it's in, that's all. No worries, no problems what so ever SO LONG AS YOU DON'T OPEN IT!" He picked up Link and shook him by his shoulders, the once again small Link flopping around like a ragdoll. "YOU HEAR ME? NO OPENING! NO PEEKING! NO THINKING ABOUT PEEKING! NO CALCULATING WAYS TO PEEK WITHOUT ME KNOWING! JUST GET IT AND BRING IT BACK, YES SIR, THAT'S IT! Such a nice little boy, Hyrule is truly grateful to have you as its savior. Such a trustworthy boy who will NOT OPEN THAT CASE UNLESS HE WANTS HIS LITTLE EARS CHOPPED OFF do I make myself clear?"

Link shook his head in the affirmative as fast as it would go, his eyes full of terror and confusion. As soon as he was let go, he clutched Navi and ran out of the building into the street, spanking be damned.

"Holy Triforce, what the hell was that?" Navi screeched as Link ran out of town, putting as much distance between himself and that crazy mask salesman as he could. "Ganondorf doesn't scare me as much as that weirdo does!"

Link stopped running when he reached the drawbridge, and collapsed to catch his breath. 'Navi... I don't think I've ever been as frightened of a person as I just was. But, he has a point. I might need that Sheikah mask, and we'll be in the well anyway. Plus he mentioned that it was related to the guardian of the truth. Let's just get the trinket and his damned box and get the hell out of there.'

"But..." Navi protested, "there could be something bad inside the box. And you saw him, we are not, under any circumstances, to open it! I don't like the idea of giving something that could be dangerous to that creep without knowing exactly what it is! We could be helping Ganondorf!"

'What could possibly be worse than what has already happened?' Link asked as he walked up the steps leading to Kakariko Village. 'Ganondorf already seized the Triforce and freed the terror from the well. As far as I'm concerned, this loony guy can have his box.' Link walked up to the well and pouted. '...It's full of water.'

"Any ideas how to get in, then? Wait, what about the guy in the windmill that you freaked out, the one with the hurdy whurly gig? He said something about a kid with an ocarina messing thins up seven years ago. Did you mess things up back then- uh, sorry, I mean recently?"

'Let's find out.'

* * *

><p>Link played the Song of Storms for the windmill man, and sure enough, the windmill spun out of control. It drained every drop of water from the well, opening a path to the chambers inside. Link climbed down the long ladder etched into the side of the well, gathered his courage, and crawled inside.<p>

The first thing Link noticed in the bottom of the well was the stench of blood. Next came the feeling that his skin was crawling, and finally an overwhelming feeling of dread. This was a torture chamber. Navi shivered from the lingering screams and ghouls, while Link shivered from the sight of bones embedded in the walls.

"I want to go home."

'Me too, Navi. But we just have to find the two relics first. Any ideas which way to go?' The well was made of a few long trenches, which held just enough water to drown a man if he fell and got pinned. Link looked around, deciding where to start, before settling on a strange fountain jutting out from the wall. He walked over to it, and studied it. 'These hands coming out from the sides, does it look like their nails are pointing at something?'

"Down into the water, maybe?" Navi flew close to the water at Link's feet, her glow lighting up the stones at the bottom of the trench. They were faded, but she could just make out the edges of yellow paint. "It looks like there was something painted here, something yellow. I see three spots left. Hey, wait, maybe it was the Triforce!"

Link withdrew his ocarina and played Zelda's Lullaby, causing the fountain to sputter and close up. The water at his feet drained away, and a large pit opened up in front of him. He could just make out the edges of a crawl space. 'Hey, there's a hole in that pit. Maybe we should crawl through it...'

"Maybe we shouldn't. I'm scared, Link. I don't want to be down here any longer."

The hero picked up his fairy, and hugged her close. 'Think of Sheik, Navi. They need us to help Impa, and we can't do that without this trinket.' Link jumped into the pit and peeked through the hole, finding a chamber on the other side. 'See? There's a door on the other side. Shall we?' Navi reluctantly agreed but immediately dove into his hat- the evil energy here was overwhelming and she could not take it.

Link crawled through the trench, and pulled out his sword before opening the door in front of him. The room he found himself in was damp and rank, and the walls and floors appeared to be covered in decomposing material. The smell alone made him want to vomit.

"Welcome, little green hero."

Link looked around for the source of the voice, finding nothing but an old pile of bones atop a ratty red cape. When he got closer, a flash of magic made them disappear, replacing them with a human. A Sheikah to be exact.

"I see you found my torture chamber. Lovely, isn't it? Although, now that the water from the outer well was drained, it doesn't have the same, ominous, 'going to drown at any minute' feel as it used to. I'll have to work on that..."

"Who are you?" Navi yelled for Link as he readied his sword.

"Oh, I think you know who I am. Why else would you have come the whole way down here? You want my toys." The man held up an object in each hand. In the left was a purple magnifying glass, decorated in the style of the Eye of the Sheikah. In the right was a small black casket, the edges carved into a number of strange pictures.

"I can do to part with the stupid box. The key has been locked inside it, you know, and so it will never open. Might as well take it with you," he said as he chucked it at Link. "But the other, oh no no. It stays with me. After all, I need something to remind me of my little Sheikah princess..."

Link inspected the strange man before him. He wore a hooded cape, showing no part of his body except his head. Wisps of silver hair stuck out around his red eyes, and a few hints of purple dotted his grayish skin. A faint aura of magic could be sensed from him, even to one as out of tune with the ethereal as Link. He wore an eye crest on his robes, similar in design to the Sheikah symbol but without the tear at the bottom. The man's other crest was what caught Link's eye. Atop the man's headgear was a small golden arrowhead, with a crescent moon and star in the center. It was the very same crescent moon he had come to recognize as a sign of evil, the emblem of Ganondorf.

"You're a minion of Ganondorf!"

"Why, yes, little fairy." The man bowed with a sinister grin on his face. "You have the pleasure of being in the company of Lord Ganondorf's second in command. Agahnim, if you please."

Link screamed and lunged at the man once he heard the name. Agahnim took it as amusing instead of threatening, and merely sidestepped out of the way, grabbing Link's collar as he passed and hoisting him up into the air. "Oh my, the little hero is quite wound up. Could it be he knows of my Master's plan?" He grabbed Link's Kokiri sword and threw it into the wall behind him. "Of course he does, he's the one who gave my Master the keys to the Sacred Realm. So I think this rage comes from something else... Hmm, why is the little hero so angry with me, I wonder...?"

'You rat bastard, I'll rip your tongue out with my bare hands,' Link screamed in his head, trying to kick his way out of the evil Sheikah's grip. He was a child again, and being a child meant he was vulnerable. He just could not take it.

"You know bloody well why Link is mad at you," Navi screamed as she bit at the man's fingers in an effort to make him drop Link. "Your sadistic experiments on little children are crimes in themselves, but to do that to the one we love is unforgivable!"

Agahnim scoffed and caught Navi by the wings, causing her to wail in pain. He threw Link into the corner, so forcefully that the hero's head was knocked against the floor. Link's senses were muddled and his body was too weak to stand. Thus, he could only watch as the evil mage tortured his companion.

"I hate fairies," Agahnim began as he pinched his thumb and forefinger around the little fairy's waist, pinning her in place. "All they do is WHINE and COMPLAIN." The fingers of his other hand slowly wrapped around one of her lower wings, causing Link to panic. Agahnim saw the little boy become hysterical, and a hideous grin came over his face. "It makes me want to punish them."

"AHHHH!" Navi screamed at the top of her lungs as Agahnim jerked his hand up, pulling her wing with him. The poor girl jerked and shuddered, and little drops of blood ran down her body and fell onto the floor.

'NAVI!' Link screamed and stumbled to his feet, cursing his child body. If he were seventeen, he would be able to fight with his fists. But as a ten year old he had no real strength. His sword was stuck in the opposite wall, his weapons were little more than children's toys, and he was disoriented to boot. If only he could use magic like Sheik...

"Now then, the fairy said something about me hurting the one you love," Agahnim taunted, dropping poor Navi and her detached wing into the dirt. "Since I know you weren't speaking of what I just did, that means there was another. And I wonder, is that other person the reason you smell of Ikana Canyon? Could it be the one you love is my little princess?"

Link staggered on his feet, doing his best to spit at the man taunting him. 'Don't you call Sheik your princess... You are nothing but a torturing, murdering, evil monster!' Link knew Agahnim couldn't understand him, but damn it if he didn't try. 'Sheik is beautiful no matter how they decide to live. Anyone who tries to change them should burn in Din's Fire.'

..._Din's Fire!_

Link suddenly remembered the charm he received from the Great Fairy, on the day after opening the Dodongo's Cavern and presenting Zelda with the Goron's Ruby. Pretending to collapse from his concussion he dropped to the floor atop Navi, and hurled the red gem at Agahnim.

The Sheikah caught it as expected, but he was not prepared for the sudden burst of flames that sprung forth from his hand. He jumped back in panic, causing the magnifying glass to fall out of his sleeve.

Link grabbed it just before the circle of flames expanded, and fled from the room as quickly as his muddled feet would go. He had more of his bearings now, and swiftly pulled off his hat to swaddle Navi. She was covered in blood and tears, and was shaking from circulatory shock, but managed to wrap her hand around one of Link's fingers.

Link was in tears. 'Hang on, girl, it will be fine. I'll get your wing back on, don't worry. Just hang in there. Please... Navi...'

The panicked hero crawled right out of the well and ran straight on to Castle Town. Navi's injuries were far beyond blue potion, and the only healer he knew was seven years in the future. He sprinted up the steps to the Temple of Time, and threw open the doors. Inside, he found someone blocking the sword chamber.

"Just a second, my hero, don't go back without this!" The creepy mask salesman tossed a bundle at Link, stepping out of the way to grant him access to the Master Sword. "You'll need it for when you descend into the shadow.

Link barged past the salesman, taking but a second to pull the black box from his pouch and toss it behind him. If it was not what the man wanted, too bad. Link was not going back into the well and this was no time to argue.


	21. Chapter 21: Broken

**Note: Adult chapter ahead! It's mostly plot, but there are some... developments. Of the frickle frackle kind. ;)**

**Please be aware, this chapter is the one I had the most problems with. Sheik is upset, and we all know people don't act in their right minds when they are faced with tragedy (especially after a concussion).**

* * *

><p>Sheik stood in front of a mirror, staring at the long gash on their forehead. They were rather groggy, but stable enough to walk around and thus had headed straight for the mirror. The potion had worked to stimulate the gash's healing, but an amount of blood still seeped from the wound into the gauze. Next they inspected their broken hand. It caused no pain, only mild shock. Sheik had fallen down the canyon hundreds of times as a child and never once broke a bone.<p>

The door burst open, waking Sheik from their reverie. They turned around to find Link in tears, out of breath, and clutching his hat to his chest.

"Link, what happened? You only left an hour ago, yet you look like you've been through some kind of tor-"

'Please save her, please. I don't know what to do, he, he pulled her wing off!' Sheik needed to hear no more, running over and taking the bloody hat from Link's arms.

"Go get Granny, now!" Sheik unfolded the hat, pained at the sight of Navi's little blood stained body. "Oh Goddesses, Navi..." They gently turned her onto her stomach, and slid off her little blue dress. There was a massive tear in the muscle beneath her right shoulder, where her wings connected to her body. The lower half of the wing was gone, but her muscle structure was largely intact. Sheik began shaking at the sight, and collapsed to the ground with the little fairy pressed to their chest.

Link came back with Granny, who ran to Sheik with a hemostatic potion. "Rub this on the fairy's shoulder. Do you have the broken wing?" Link gave Granny the little appendage bundled in his hand. "Good. This potion will hold her while I take her up to the Great Fairy atop the mountain. The Great Fairy will be able to help fix the little one up, no problem."

"Granny, it's a long climb to the top of the mountain, you can't do such a thing!" Sheik protested between their tears, but was promptly shushed.

"Now see here, kiddies. Sheik, you broke your hand and hit your head something nasty, it's a wonder you can even walk around with such a concussion. And Link, well, I know a broken man when I see one, and you my boy are very broken. Stay here in bed for three days, both of you. Impa will keep the monster at bay in the graveyard until then. I can't be having our heroes collapse in the underworld of the Shadow Temple, that's for certain. I'll take the little fairy up to be healed, so you two rest here. Doctor's orders!"

Granny scooped up Navi and headed out, leaving Sheik and Link alone. Sheik looked over to find Link weeping, and noticed the large blood stain on his chest. Sheik's focus was still muddled, but at least they could offer comfort. "...Don't cry Link, it will be okay. Granny is stronger than anyone we know. She'll get Navi up to the Great Fairy, and then Navi will be treated. Come here, let me take that tunic off you. We should wash it before the stain sets in."

'...Here.' Link thrust the magnifying glass and the mask salesman's bundle into Sheik's hands. 'You're an extraordinarily strong person, Sheik. You survived being held captive by what is truly a horrible monster. Had I been in your or Navi's place, I certainly would have cracked. ...I feel like I've already cracked.'

Sheik looked at the trinket in their hand, and pinched their eyes shut. "Oh Goddesses, don't tell me... Who was in the well, Link?"

'...Agahnim.'

The Sheikah sighed, pulled Link to their chest, and wrapped their hands around the shaking hero. They knew the second they laid eyes on the Lens of Truth who it had been, but just didn't want to believe it. "It will be okay, Link. The Great Fairy will heal Navi, and that man will never touch her again. He... he doesn't give repeat performances."

'I failed to protect her, and now I'm scared that I'll fail to protect you. You are the most important thing in my life, and if you were to be injured, I don't think I could..."

"Link, take me to bed."

Link looked up and met Sheik's eyes, confused at their sudden change in demeanor. 'What?'

"We've both had a horrible day, and I'm having trouble thinking straight. I just want to cuddle up next to you and block out the world. And you heard Granny, we're on bed rest. Come on." Sheik lifted their arms up like a small child begging to be held, and Link answered their request by standing and scooping them up.

'As my lady requests,' Link said with a weary smile, and carried Sheik up the steps to the bed. Sheik curled against Link's chest and ran a finger through his hair.

"...There are times I like being a lady," Sheik admitted, "especially when my handsome knight is there to protect me. It hurts, though, that other people don't understand. They think I'm going through phases, or that I'm not really committed to my identity. It's like, I'm shamed for breaking some rule that says I can only be one of two genders. Or if I do something even remotely female, like wearing pink, I'm suddenly 'back to normal'. No I'm not, I'm being ridiculed. ...Yes, okay, there are days I want to wear dresses and pick flowers, I admit it! But I'm scared, Link, I don't like the attention. It gives me anxiety, my self esteem takes a dive, and I'm right back to being that tortured little girl in Ikana!"

'I think Granny was right, you do have quite the concussion. You would have never told me these things if you were in your right mind,' Link gently prodded, trying to lift Sheik's spirits.

"How do you know what a concussion is, you didn't even know what fucking me meant."

Link laughed at the Sheikah's curt response as he tucked himself and Sheik into bed. 'I had many concussions as a child. I used to fall out of my tree house at least once a week. Are you mad that I called you a lady?'

"Yes."

'And how would you like me to make it up to you?'

"I think maybe **I'll** fuck **you** tonight. Making love is for girls."

'So tonight you're a boy?'

"Yup. So that means I'm going to be the one to put it in you."

'But how will you-' Link's question was interrupted, as Sheik yanked off his tights and tunic. After disrobing themself, Sheik laid down on top of the hero and started licking his neck.

'Nnn... Sheik, What's gotten in to you? Ohh!'

Sheik slid their tongue downwards to Link's chest, spending a little time sucking on his nipples before getting antsy and trailing downward. Link couldn't help but grin as Sheik stared down his arousal. He wanted Sheik to be at ease, and if their outbursts helped, he'd let them carry on all night.

"Look at that thing, it's taunting me. Hey, little Link, what's so great about you? You only exist to transport your seed into my broken womb, so why is it you get so much attention in the world? In fact, you're considered to be the very thing that defines a man. 'Manhood', bah! I'm just as much a man as your owner, even without one of you. You know what, maybe I'll take you for myself!"

Link was about to be alarmed, until he felt the warmth of Sheik's lips atop his lower head. They ran their tongue along the top and sides, even gently nibbling on the skin. Link groaned as Sheik grabbed and massaged the rest of him, and jerked up when Sheik felt around his backside for his entrance.

'Ahh... Sh-Sheik...!'

Sheik removed their mouth from his arousal when they started to taste something, and frowned a bit. "You, you're done already? But, I didn't go inside of you yet. I didn't even get to feel anything either..." They hung their head and looked like they were going to cry.

'Oh no, Sheik...' Link sat up and cupped Sheik's face. 'I'm not finished, I can go quite a bit longer. Please don't be sad, I'll give you the feelings you want. Can I take over?'

A nod later and Sheik was lying back down, with Link pressing soft kisses to their cheek and forehead. Link caressed Sheik's hip and thigh, laying more kisses across their navel and gently separating their legs.

"I'm sorry, Link. I just don't feel like myself lately," Sheik mumbled as they dug their hands into the hero's hair. "Bongo Bongo is free, Impa is gone, Navi is near death, you're about to descend into the hell that is the Shadow Temple, and now I know Agahnim's back. My sanity is falling apart. You're not the one who is broken, I am."

Sheik shuddered as Link licked at the little bud between their legs, and moaned when he slid his fingers inside them. 'We're both broken,' he said as he pulled his mouth away and prepared himself. Easing himself in gently, he added, 'But we are going to put each other back together. From this day forward, I am not leaving your side. We'll go through the remaining temples together, we'll defeat Ganondorf together, and then we'll go to Termina and be married at the Carnival of Time.'

"Link!" Sheik screamed as Link moved back and forth within them, elated by his words. A few moments later Sheik clenched, and they both came to their climaxes together.

"Telling your lover that they're broken is one hell of a way to propose to them, you know," Sheik mumbled as Link smoothed out their hair. Link grinned and cuddled next to them.

'Well, growing up as a mute, it's not like I have the greatest way with words.'

"Then show me, future wife, how your actions speak louder than any other's words." Link obliged, and gave Sheik the best kiss he'd ever given them.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I refer to Link as a "wife" on purpose. The word "husband" has negative connotations to me which I won't bore you with. :)**


	22. Chapter 22: Descent Into Darkness

'What is this thing, anyway?' Link asked, holding the purple magnifying glass in front of his good eye. 'When I look at you through it, you look... softer. Gentler, as if you never went through hardship.'

"Be careful where you point that thing," Sheik warned while pulling on their gaiters. "Some times the truth is best left unknown. That relic is called the Lens of Truth. Many things in this world are not as they seem, and the magically inclined often use glamour to hide their appearances. You can see through them with that tool. The Lens of Truth allows only the rightful appearance of objects through, so it will be invaluable in the Shadow Temple."

'...Then that means that you were the little girl that never made it out of the well...'

"...Yes. Though it took me quite a while to realize that this well and the place where that demon tortured me were one and the same. He took away the only thing that connected me to womanhood, after all, so that part of my tale was no lie. The part about him being executed, though... I did stretch the truth a little. Bongo Bongo was the one whose hands were chopped off and executed, many many years ago. His spirit used to haunt the graveyard, but right after Ganondorf took power, it grew. That was when Impa reinforced the ancient seal placed over it."

Link nodded in understanding, then pulled out his new mask. 'Hey, should I bring this with me? The man who gave it to me said I'll need it before I go through the Shadow Temple. I hope it's necessary, because I traded something mysterious and quite possibly very dangerous to get it.'

Sheik came over to inspect the mask, feeling a bit of nostalgia. "Isn't this the Mask of Truth? Who gave it to you? I haven't seen this since I was a child."

'A very creepy and quite possibly homicidal mask salesman.'

"Oh, you mean Shigeru!"

Link made a face at Sheik's recognition. 'You know him?'

"Yes, he's well known in Termina. Masks are a part of Terminan culture, and he is a source of information when it comes to discovering their power. They say there is no mask in existence that he does not know. What did you have to give up in order for him to relinquish such a valuable mask as this?" Sheik looked over the Mask of Truth with a smile on their face.

'Something from under the well. I don't know what was inside, because he said he'd chop my ears off if I looked in the box.' Link watched Sheik inspect the mask, and noticed how they seemed to light up upon holding it. 'What does it do?'

"The Mask of Truth allows one not born of shadow to communicate with the many Gossip Stones throughout Hyrule. It also lets you see into people's hearts, though that power seems to be limited to Termina. ...I made this mask, you know. When I went to the Carnival of Time all those years ago. He must have known I was helping you. He is a good man, I'm sure whatever you gave him is better off in his hands than in Agahnim's." Sheik hugged Link and placed the mask in his hands." Here, Link, I want you to keep it along with the Lens of Truth. The mask may not be of use to you inside the Shadow Temple, but it is a valuable item to have."

Sheik slipped their tabard over their head, putting the finishing touches on their usual clothing. Just as they started donning their facial wrappings, Link came over and kissed them on the lips.

'I still think The Guardian of the Truth is prettier without their face covered...'

"Well you've given me a new reason to cover up, after all I can't have people seeing me blush all the time!" Sheik smiled and stuck it on, before helping Link into his gear. "Now come outside, there is something I need to teach you."

* * *

><p>'Tell me more about what being the Guardian of the Truth was like!'<p>

"Not now, we have work to do!"

'Aww, please?'

"No!" Sheik wanted to giggle as Link hounded them on their way through the graveyard. "Now come over here, I have to show you how to enter the temple!" Sheik pointed above their heads, and Link's gaze settled on a fence he had never noticed before.

"The Shadow Temple is actually beneath us, far below the graves. But the only way in is through the cave above us." They paused to pull out their lyre. "This is the melody that will draw you into the infinite darkness that absorbs even time... Listen to this, the Nocturne of Shadow!"

Link grinned as Sheik played. Even the somber Nocturne of Shadow couldn't take away from how much he loved playing his ocarina with Sheik. Link repeated the notes perfectly, and the two were swept up in a purple wind. It deposited them on a warp pedestal above the graveyard, and Link watched as Sheik ventured into the cave.

They came to a room full of unlit torches, blocked off by a door bearing the Eye of the Sheikah. "We'll have to light all these torches at once to open the door," Sheik commented, staring at a fire emblem on the ground. "Quick, use the fire magic you received from the Great Fairy to light the way."

'Um...'

Sheik turned around. "What do you mean, 'um'? Open the door."

'I can't. I used the gem to incinerate Agahnim after he pulled Navi's wing off.'

Sheik frowned. "I guess I'll have to open the way. Thing is, my magic isn't nearly as strong as yours, hero. You've been blessed by two Great Fairies, and hold a piece of the Golden Power. The most I have is the gift of the Garo and the Sheikah's innate connection to the shadow. But here goes nothing..."

Sheik stepped atop the emblem, and raised their hands to the sky. Closing their eyes, they focused every ounce of magic in their body for the task ahead. Fire did not come easily, however, and they started shaking.

That was when Link stepped behind Sheik, wrapping his arms around their waist and tucking his chin into their shoulder.

_Pull from me, Sheik,_ they heard him say in their head, and suddenly they had enough energy to cast the spell. All the torches burst into flame, and the door slowly opened. Sheik's head lulled back from exhaustion, and without a word, Link swept them up and continued into the temple.

* * *

><p>"Ngh..." Sheik opened their eyes and found themself lying against a wall, with their hero engaged in battle with a stalfos in front of them. Link took it out swiftly, thrusting the Master Sword upward into the skeleton warrior's spine and shattering its skull.<p>

When he saw that Sheik was awake, Link came over and kissed their forehead. 'How do you feel?'

"Like I had all my magic sucked out of me. But I'm okay, I guess." Sheik made to stand, but collapsed the second they took their weight off the wall. "Okay, never mind. Guess I'm not okay."

Link caught the stumbling Sheikah and held them steady. 'I don't think it's because of the spell at the entrance,' he supposed. 'I feel it too. The shadows are siphoning our energies away. You've just been hit worse, since you're recovering from pneumonia, the incident at the well, Navi, and that spell. Do you want me to take you back? We can continue when you're all healed up.'

"No, Link. This is the kind of thing where the sooner you get it over with, the less it hurts. I'll be fine. Just give me a minute." Sheik closed their eyes, in what Link knew all too well was the starting point for slumber. So he carefully laid his sword and shield on the ground, and hoisted Sheik onto his back.

"Nn... what are you doing, Link?"

'It will be easier for you to sleep back here. Just hold on and don't fall off.' Link picked his gear back up, and stood. 'Are you holding on tightly?'

Sheik nodded and tightly wrapped their arms around Link's neck. "It's strange... I still feel exhausted, like I might pass out at any second, but the energy doesn't feel like it's being drained anymore."

'Maybe since you're not actually touching the temple anymore,' Link suggested, moving through a fake wall and appearing in a large chamber. A giant spiked statue surrounded by decaying skulls on pikes took center stage, while a chasm bordered the opposite wall. 'Goddesses above, are those _severed heads_ on those sticks? Ugh, I might be sick...'

"There's only one there, Link. Use the Lens of Truth, you'll see what I mean. Then turn the herald in that direction." Link listened and pulled the trinket from his pouch. Sweeping the room, he found out that not only was Sheik correct, but there was also a hidden door in the left corner.

'Wow, Sheik, how did you know? The lens was in my pocket the whole time...'

"That lens is just an imitation of the way I normally see things. A curse of being the Guardian of the Truth."

'Why do you say curse?' Link pushed on through the hidden door, finding a mausoleum inside. 'Isn't it good to be able to see through people's lies?'

"Not at the expense of imagination," they replied with a sad tone. "A child can't play pretend when they always see the world for what it is."

The two remained silent as Link explored the crypt, finally coming across a door. 'Should I go in?'

"...Leave me out here." Link turned around to look Sheik in the eye, and found an expression of pure terror over their face. "I'm not going in there, Link. I can feel it, that... that _thing_ is in there!"

'The zombie monster from beneath the village?'

"Link, you have strength where I do not. If I go in there, I don't think I'll emerge with my sanity intact. I encountered it when Impa was training me, and even she understood that it was too much for me. Even facing Agahnim was less painful. Please, just leave me here."

Link hesitated to leave Sheik alone, especially since he knew the temple drained their energy. But Sheik knew what was on the other side of the door, and trusted Link to eradicate it for them. 'Alright. Here,' Link sat Sheik on the ground, and laid the Master Sword across their lap. 'Hold on to that for me, and no evil will harm you. I'll use the sword I got from Biggoron.'

"But..."

'No complaining." Link kissed Sheik, then entered the room.


	23. Chapter 23: The Shadow Temple

Twenty minutes passed. Then thirty. Sheik clutched the Master Sword to their chest, filled with worry. _What if that thing killed him? Oh Goddesses, please don't let that be the case_... Finally, after an hour, Sheik resolved to investigate. Using the Master Sword to get to their feet, they walked over and forced the door open.

"RRAAGH!"

Sheik screamed and swung the sword in front of them, colliding with and decapitating a bloody white monster. Its body fell and dissolved on the dirt, and Sheik was able to see that it was in fact the zombified monster from beneath the well.

They scanned the rest of the room in search of Link, finding nothing. "Link? Link!" Their eyes settled on a lump of recently disturbed decaying material in the corner, and ran over. Beneath it was a wooden chest, and inside they found a pair of boots with small golden wings along the sole. "Hover boots? I don't want these, I want Link!"

Sheik checked the walls for hidden doors and found nothing. They checked the floors for passages, and still nothing. Then they found it, a small green object lying near the zombie's corpse.

"No..."

Sheik bent down and reached out to it with a shaky hand. It was a hat. More specifically, a Kokiri style hat, soaked with blood stains. Once they touched it, their hand began to glow with a golden hue.

"NO!" They sat there, horrified as the glow formed into a set of triangles. There were only two ways the Triforce transferred to another person- either it was taken by force, or the person carrying it met their end.

_This can't be happening!_

Sheik shook their head in disbelief. _The blood around the room, that was probably from some other creature. The hat was just a coincidence, yeah, some other Kokiri must have wandered into the temple. And the Triforce- just a hallucination from the energy drain. Link just snuck out another door..._

"Master Sheik."

Sheik leapt a foot in the air, when she heard the voice from thin air. It was a familiar voice, but not the one she was searching for. "WHO'S THERE? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH LINK? SHOW YOURSELF!" Sheik shouted through tears of fright, shakily holding the Master Sword in front of them as a deterrent.

The blade in their hands began to glow, and a blue spirit sprung forth in front of them. "Master Sheik."

"F-Fi? Why are you here? And why are you calling me 'master'? Where is Link?"

"...My master is the one who wields the Triforce of Courage."

"Which is Link... right?" Sheik stared at Fi, and the longer the silence went on, the more frightened they became. "_Right?_"

"...I am sorry, Master Sheik."

Sheik let out a sob, and collapsed to the floor. They shook uncontrollably, crying and yelling to the point of breathlessness. Fi floated down and laid her wing on their shoulder, trying in vain to comfort them. "Master... I don't believe he would want you to despair like this. You need to carry on his mission and save your elder."

The trembling Sheikah continued to cry, even as Fi consoled them. Finally, once their body could produce no more tears, they spoke to the sword spirit. "...He said he was saving Hyrule for me, so that he could be with me somewhere without strife. I repaid him by sending him to his death, and yet he still gave me what I have no right to hold."

"The Triforce of Courage passes to the one who most embodies the spirit of the hero. It knows you have the strength to defeat Ganondorf and return the Princess to the throne," Fi explained. "There is also a ninety five percent probability that the Master's spirit has gone to the part of the Sacred Realm where the heroes of old rest, and a ninety eight percent probability that the two of you will reunite there once your spirit moves on to the next life."

"Then if I save Impa and kill Ganondorf, I'll get to see him again? Fine. Let's go." Sheik pulled the Hover Boots on their feet and returned to the earlier large chamber. Taking a deep breath and saying a prayer to the Goddesses, Sheik ran across the chasm. The effect of the boots wore off just as they reached the outcropping, and Sheik was forced to lunge to clear the gap. They made it, but bounced off the floor.

"Ow, my head!"

_Does everything feel okay?_

"I think so," they mumbled to themself, in response to their thoughts. They crawled through the opening in the wall (which resembled a mouth now that they thought about it), and tried to stand, but the floor was slick and they slid down a sharp incline.

The room at the bottom was filled with numerous bones, piles of which blocked two of the three ways forward. Dodging a beamos, Sheik ran into the one room that was open.

_Something is off about this room... Why is it so wide open?_

"An invisible scythe is spinning in the middle," Sheik discovered when they squinted, and crawled along the floor to avoid it. They kept crawling until they found an alcove, and hid inside.

"Master Sheik, watch out for sudden passages." Fi flew ahead to a glyph on the wall. "The spirits are whispering here, and they tell me that this is the way to the vessel bound for the underworld." Fi's words came a bit too late, as Sheik discovered the passage for themself when they plummeted to the concrete below.

_Reminds me of how I used to fall out of the trees..._

"I hate falling out of trees," Sheik mumbled as they regained consciousness. A tear slid down their face as they remembered who else often fell from his tree house. _The sooner I reach Impa, the sooner we reunite, Link. _

Fi flew over to a grand barge, causing Sheik to investigate. They hopped over the platforms leading to it, landing next to the sword spirit. A Triforce crest shined on the deck.

_My turn to play for you._

Sheik nodded, and pulled out their lyre, plucking the strings to form Zelda's Lullaby. The barge started moving in response to the tune, and Sheik braced themself for the trip to the underworld. "Here we go..." Sheik sighed, thinking of how much they really wanted to just give up and stay wherever the ship took them. A tremor hit the barge at that moment, causing Sheik to lose their balance and plunge head first into the mast. After that, all they saw was darkness.

_Easy does it, don't try to get up too soon. It's okay to rest here for a bit, there are no creatures around._

Eyes closed in a dream, Sheik felt Link running his fingers through their hair. He was much more tender than a hero was expected to be, and Sheik couldn't help crying in their sleep.

_'Hey, don't cry. It will all be over soon, and then we can relax. I promise you.'_

"Link..." Sheik opened their eyes and found themself lying on a cement pedestal, likely part of a broken monument. Looking around, they spotted a piece of the barge's mast sticking up from the ghostly river. _I see, the ship sank. I must have escaped without realizing it after I hit my head._

Sheik slid down from the pedestal, and wandered over to the only door in sight. Beyond was a seemingly empty pit, but when Sheik focused, they could see a series of invisible platforms. Hopping across, they landed in front of a door held closed by an ominous lock.

_Impa must be in there._

"So is Bongo Bongo." Sheik touched the lock, using shadow magic to force it apart. When the door swung open, Sheik ran inside. The room was smaller than expected, containing only a large hole. Peering over the edge, Sheik saw nothing but could hear growling from the bottom.

_No. It's far too dangerous._

"...I have to go down there. I've already let my hero down, I refuse to let my mother down as well!" Sheik ran forth and leapt into the hole, falling and falling and falling until they saw the ghastly glow of poison water. They hit the ground but immediately bounced back up, discovering that they had landed on the surface of a large drum surrounded by the toxic liquid.

_Watch out!_

"Master Sheik!" Sheik heard Fi's call and rolled to the side, barely avoiding the crushing blow of a severed hand, one which was all too familiar to them. They tried to stand, but the shaky surface of the drum combined with general exhaustion from the energy drain made them wobble and fall back down.

'SHEIK!'

Sheik looked around, wondering where that voice just now came from, when they were suddenly yanked into the air. Bongo Bongo's second hand had caught them, and was squeezing the air from their body. The poor Sheikah tried to break free, but the demon was stronger. It kept squeezing them, trying to grind them into powder. Sheik kept up their struggle, irritating the monster until it gave up and tossed them into the water.

"AHHH!" Sheik screamed in intense pain the second they hit the liquid's surface. The poison water left their clothing intact but ate through their skin, feeling like a million hot needles being driven into their body. As if it were part of the torture, Sheik could not lose consciousness, thus they felt every second of the pain as it ate away their flesh.

The monster returned and plucked them from the water, dropping them down on the drum. Sheik coughed and hacked, blood running from their nose and mouth. _I'm not going to make it... Not even with your divine gift, Link. _They wearily glanced up to get a last look at their attacker, when the saw the hazy outline of another person standing between them.

'Watch over her.'

The Master Sword was suddenly thrust into the drum in front of Sheik's face, and Fi appeared to wrap protectively around Sheik's head and shoulders. A beam of light glinted off the long sword in the figure's left hand, and Sheik followed it up to a gauntlet glowing with the golden hue of the divine gift.

Sheik's energy finally gave out, their eyes falling shut as they hallucinated. _Sleep would be so peaceful now_, they thought, eagerly awaiting death's embrace. With death comes a chance to see their love again, so Sheik stopped fighting. "Li... nk..."


	24. Chapter 24: The Dead Need No Healing

"There's nothing to worry about... The Princess is safe now. Soon, you'll meet Princess Zelda face to face, and she will explain everything... That is when we, the Six Wise Ones, will seal up the Evil King and return peace to Hyrule."

_...What? Who is talking? It sounds like..._

"When last I saw you, as we made our escape from the castle, you were just a lad... Now I see that you have become a fine hero..."

"I... m... pa..." Sheik fluttered their eyes open upon hearing their elder's voice, and expected to see the gray haired warrior. Instead, they saw the weathered blue eye of a hero.

'When I was a child, my only motivation for helping the Princess was my duty. Now, it's quite the opposite. I want a world where my loved one can live without fear.' Link smiled and looked down at Sheik, who had yet to realize that they were in his arms. 'Come on, we need to get you healed up.'

"...Why do the dead need healed?" Sheik wondered aloud, causing both Link and Impa to laugh.

'Sheik, you're not dead. I pulled you out of the poison water in time, remember? Then I killed Bongo Bongo while you laid on the drum beside me.'

"No... You, you succumbed to that zombie! You died! I-I found your hat, it was covered in blood!" Sheik began shaking, visibly haunted by the memories.

Link glanced at Impa with concern, before turning back and caressing Sheik's face. 'Sheik, I haven't worn my hat since Navi was injured. That's why it was covered in blood, because I used it to cover her. She was still wearing it when Granny took her to the Great Fairy. So what do you mean you found it?'

Impa came over to Link and placed her hand on Sheik's forehead. "Hmm... You have quite the experience in your mind, young one. Come with me, Hero. It may be best for the two of you to recuperate here in the Temple of Light."

Link followed Impa to a small room, which he instantly recognized as the one from his dreams. 'This room looks very familiar. Was I kept here during those seven years I slept?'

"Yes, Hero. Please lay Sheik on the bed, and start helping them recover." Impa motioned to a number of potions on a table, which Link promptly uncorked. "Now Sheik, tell me what you saw in the Shadow Temple so that I may help ease your thoughts."

Sheik recounted everything they could remember after finding Link's hat, while Link peeled off their bloody clothing and set about tending to their wounds. When they were finished with their tale, Link picked up and held their hand.

'Sheik, most of that was true, but I think you were a little confused. I found you passed out in the hall, after I killed that zombie. The Shadow Temple must have drained every bit of energy out of you, because you were all muddled when I tried to talk to you. Don't you remember me asking if you were okay after we ran over that chasm? Or how I said our tumble reminded me of how I used to fall out of my tree house?'

Sheik thought for a minute, recalling their black out after boarding the barge and the voice that spoke in their head. "You... told me it would be all over soon..."

Link smiled and kissed Sheik's cheek. 'It really hurt to see you crying like that.'

"Such is the nature of the Shadow Temple," Impa commented. "It feeds off your worst fears. In Sheik's case it was the hero's death, though with you there, together you were able to make it through the temple. Link, I believe your fear was being unable to protect those close to you, as evidenced with your fairy companion."

'...So the temple made Sheik a target.'

Impa nodded. "You are correct. But the two of you together are stronger than the shadows, and held off its assault."

Sheik tried to sit up from bed to protest, but Link laid them back down. "But Link, I'm not lying when I say I felt the Triforce come to me! And Fi! She called out to me, calling me Master Sheik and telling me which way to go. You even called to her and told her to protect me, Link!"

'Um... who's Fi? I don't know any Fi.' Link looked around confused, until Impa put her hand on his shoulder.

"Link's sharing of his energy must have manifested itself in your mind as him passing on the Triforce of Courage," Impa explained. "As for Fi, you brought that from your own memories. How many times did you ask me to tell you that story as a child?"

"But she was THERE!" Sheik sat up again, this time causing Link to lay across them to keep them down. "I'm not imagining Fi. She used to talk to me while I was waiting for Link to wake up. Her and the little robot that takes care of her in the Temple of Time!"

Link looked Sheik straight in the eye. 'I believe you, Sheik. What happened was real to you, and for all we know, Fi is in this room with us and you are the only one worthy enough to see her. Maybe Fi was the blue girl in my dream who guided me to you. I swear to the Three above that I will listen to every second of what you have to say about her, but for now you need to rest and recover your energy. I'll be right here with you, okay? Please?'

Sheik pouted, but couldn't help hugging Link back. "...Okay."

'Then go to sleep, love. We'll stay here as long as it takes you to recover, then we'll go check on Navi.'


	25. Chapter 25: The Evil King's Heir

**Note: Adult chapter ahead. This chapter has a lot of biology in it, given the title. I aim for accuracy in my writing, so get ready to learn. :)**

* * *

><p>After the rage had calmed down and the men left on their way to release the monster beneath the well, Marin began picking up the pieces of broken furniture strewn about the throne room. She was halfway through the clean up, when a strong pain in her back caused her to cringe and drop the wooden beam she was holding.<p>

"What on earth are you doing?"

Marin looked up to find Ganondorf marching back into the room. "I was just cleaning this up..."

"That's what the slaves are for!" He walked over and kicked the debris away, noticing how she winced and rubbed her back. "Is that pain from the child? How long has it been happening?"

The girl looked down at her heavily swollen belly, before walking over to the organ bench and sitting down. "Um... well it's been going on for a while, today just seems to be a little more intense. The pains used to go away when I started walking around, but that quit working."

Ganondorf scoffed and picked up a shard of the broken mirror, before turning to his consort. "Gather your things and prepare to leave at once. We are heading back to the Valley."

"The Gerudo Valley?" Marin stood, though wobbling from the baby kicking at her stomach. "Why? I thought the Gerudo had chosen to abandon you..."

"We will not be going to the fortress. Judging by those aches, you are in the early stages of delivery, and I will have you give birth in the Spirit Temple. My heir will be born beneath the Goddess of the Sand, just as I was. Though for your sake, you may deliver the child at the foot of the inside statue." Ganondorf looked in the piece of mirror, eyes settling on the jewel he wore around his forehead. "The child needs a surviving mother, after all."

"You... your mother gave birth to you outside? In the harsh wind and heat of the desert? How did you make it, then, if she did not?"

"She had enough life left inside her to take me into the temple. But enough of this conversation, it is irrelevant" he said as he helped Marin to her feet. "You will be in labor within the next few days, so get ready to leave."

* * *

><p>Marin laid across Ganondorf's lap as he sped toward the Gerudo Valley on horseback. Normally he teleported to his destinations, but teleportation magic is a heavy drain on the body and Marin did not currently have enough strength to endure it. So she leaned against Ganondorf, his arm wrapped tightly around her back.<p>

"You look exhausted, and the child hasn't even come yet," he commented, taking note of her lack of energy.

"I just need to sleep. Tomorrow I'll be fine."

"Well, do not sleep yet. There is one final ceremony we must take part in before you prepare for birth. You will see when we arrive at the temple. After that, you may rest in bed until the child comes." Ganondorf took the back trail through the edge of the Snowpeak mountain range, arriving at the borders of the Haunted Wasteland without having to cross the river. The trail lead straight to the Desert Colossus, and was one of the access points for Ganondorf's sneak attack on Hyrule Castle.

When they arrived at the Spirit Temple, Ganondorf carried the snoozing Marin inside. "Didn't I tell you not to sleep yet?" he whispered, smirking when she cooed in her sleep. He carried her to the main room of the temple, where a giant statue of the Gerudo Goddess of the Sand took focus.

"Oh, look! Our Lord has come to see us, Kotake."

"And he brought the woman with him, Koume."

A pair of haggard witches flew out from behind the legs of the statue and began circling the king, causing him to hold Marin defensively to his chest. "Begone, you crones. Marin is trying to sleep. She has endured enough of my rage for one day, not to mention the little one is nearly ready to arrive."

"Oh, but my Lord Ganondorf, we must hurry if we are to perform the necessary rituals," Kotake protested. "Yes, indeed," Koume chimed in. "The woman must give up the child right now."

"I said BEGONE!" Ganondorf hissed at his surrogate mothers, causing Marin to wake and subsequently scream in fright at the two witches circling her head. He shushed her and flew up to the head of the statue, using his powers to expose a hidden doorway which led to his chambers.

Once inside, he laid Marin on his bed and gave her a blue potion. "Drink this, it will ensure you have enough stamina for the final ceremony and the birth."

Marin took the potion, but made no move to swallow it. "Those witches..."

"The ones who found me after my birth mother's demise."

"...They were staring at me as if I was a sacrificial lamb. What did they want?" Marin started trembling, and wrapped her hands around her stomach. "They won't hurt her, will they?"

Ganondorf sighed, and sat down beside his consort. "They want to perform a ritual on the child which will imbue it with dark magic." Marin recoiled in horror, and for the first time since meeting her, Ganondorf thought he saw tears forming in her eyes. "I never said I was going to allow them to do so. In fact, I've told them many times I will not permit it. The baby is safe."

"But you brought me here, to the same place where they are! Wasn't I safe back where I was?"

"Shh... Forget about them. They will not risk angering me. Now, there's one thing we have to do before you can deliver the child, and if we do it now, it will make the child come easier." Ganondorf leaned over Marin and took her lips with his own, kissing and licking a trail from her jaw down to her collar bone. "Give yourself to me, one last time."

Marin couldn't help but laugh. "But I'm heavily pregnant. There's no way I could satisfy you looking like this. I can barely even move... Ahh!"

Ignoring her protests, Ganondorf pulled off Marin's dress and began biting at her breasts. "After tonight, the child will be the one sucking at your chest," he said with a grin as Marin moaned and quivered, "though I doubt it will be as pleasurable."

Ganondorf made his way downward, rubbing and kissing the swollen belly in front of him. "My child, are you listening? You have a big life ahead of you, and I expect you to face it with honor and pride. You are the heir to not only the Gerudo throne, but also the Triforce of Power. Do not disappoint me."

While the king leaned back on the bed to disrobe, Marin sat up so she could look him in the eye. "Um, forgive me for asking... I know you want an heir, and have been looking forward to this for so long, but... ah, w-what if it's a..."

Ganondorf finished removing his clothes and leaned back against the headboard, legs folded and arousal in full view. He beckoned Marin close, and when she came over he kissed her fiercely.

"I already know it will be a girl," he said, lifting Marin up and positioning her for penetration. "Males are born ever hundred years after all, and I am not even four decades old yet."

Marin moaned as Ganondorf turned her around and slid himself into her. She arched her back against his chest as he ran his fingers through her soft hair and brought a few strands to his lips. "I doubt those prudish Hylians know this," he murmured into her ear, "but engaging in sexual intercourse during the early stages of pre-labor helps the birthing start out smoothly..."

She arched her back as he slid into her again, this time grabbing his hand and intertwining their fingers.

"The child is brought to the womb by the seed, and thus shall it lead her out," he whispered again, and used his free hand to caress her, drawing circles around her inner thighs before finally reaching her center. She clenched and slipped into her climax, leaning against the Gerudo's wide chest as he too came hard inside her.

"Sleep now Marin, for in the morning, you will begin your ascent into motherhood."

* * *

><p>Marin woke to find Agahnim at the foot of her bed, bundling sheets and wash rags into a basket. "Ah, good morning, mistress. I imagine that little one is causing quite the ruckus. How does it feel?"<p>

"It's more of a dull pain, but I... uh-oh..."

"'Uh-oh?'" Agahnim came over to find Marin staring at her legs, where a puddle had formed on the sheets beneath her. "Ohh... You dolt of a child, how could you have slept through that?!" He lifted her up and placed her on a part of the bed that hadn't been soiled by her water breaking. "Master...!"

A few moments later Ganondorf strode in, and paused when he saw Agahnim fussing over the dirty bed. "Agahnim, return to what you were doing. I am already well aware of the situation."

"Yes Master," Agahnim said with a bow and left, giving the two their privacy.

"She'll be here soon...?" Marin asked, earning a nod.

"Your water broke about two hours ago, just after I rose. How fortunate you are that the labor pains have been mild enough to sleep through. Most Gerudo women have pain so intense, they vocalize it." The king came over and draped a nightgown around Marin's shoulders, then picked her up. "We shall go back to the main hall now. Do not fear, I have sent the crones away."

Marin winced as she was carried to the base of the Goddess of the Sand statue, her labor pains now hitting her like the assault on the castle. By the time Ganondorf laid her on the birthing mat, the waves of pain were lasting for two minutes at a time. "It hurts..."

"That's to be expected," he said. "Have you felt the need to push yet?"

"A little..."

"Then do so." Agahnim was waiting at the statue with his materials. He handed his master the bundle of wash rags, and wrapped a sheet around Marin's torso to keep her warm. Despite her small frame, Marin's contractions were powerful, and only a short six hours later, the child of Ganondorf was born.

The new father wiped the wailing baby clean, while Agahnim tied off the umbilical cord and collected the placenta. "Master, my congratulations to you and Lady Marin. Such a healthy little girl..."

Too exhausted to sit up, Marin reached out for the baby. Ganondorf brought her over and helped her swaddle the infant. The baby reached out and grabbed her mother's finger, coaxing a smile from the new parent. "She's awake..."

"Yes, most of them are alert after they've been born. I anticipate she'll want to look around before she is fed," Ganondorf commented, before noticing that the baby was staring him in the eye. "Such a strong gaze, this is certainly my heir."

"...Mia."

"What did you say?"

Marin looked up at her master with conviction in her eyes. "Please, I've never asked you for anything before. Just let me be the one to name her."

Letting out a rare smile, Ganondorf kissed his daughter and then his consort. "...Very well. Agahnim, let the Gerudo know that their princess has been born, and her name is Mia Dragmire."

* * *

><p>Marin laid in the bedroom back at the head of the statue, little Mia sleeping atop her chest. "You came into the world rather quickly, didn't you? Was my stomach that uncomfortable? Or was it what he did...?" The newborn fussed in her sleep, so Marin softly began singing a song to calm her down.<p>

Ganondorf walked in as she was finishing, and came over to the bed. "There always was something about your singing that caught my attention. It's a pity you did not do it very often when I was in earshot."

"You sound like someone who is resigned to their defeat," Marin mumbled. "The boy defeated the monster in the Shadow Temple, didn't he..."

"Yes. And that means he need only awaken the Sage of Spirit before his mission is completed. But the Sage is well hidden, and she will not be an easy ally. I will not allow the temple of my people to be overcome by some Hylian brat, not when my _kougou_ is resting here and caring for my child."

"Since you consider me your partner, may I be honest with you?" Marin asked as she stroked Mia's soft orange hair. "I served you all these years because I was afraid of what you would do to me, but eventually I grew to enjoy your company. I've seen many sides of you, but not as many as you've shown within the last few months. Now we have Mia to look after, yet you've started acting as if you won't be around to see her grow. That's not something the proud Ganondorf who made me disrobe in the throne room seven years ago would ever say."

"Your doubts are unfounded. Those children do not have the strength to overthrow me. I am merely preparing in the event that I am held up in the castle for a length of time. Now let me hold my child before I am called away." Ganondorf came over and held Mia, whispering a few Gerudo language words in her ear that Marin did not understand. He kissed the infant's forehead, then returned her to Marin's lap before kissing her as well. "I will return once I have taken the other two pieces from those brats. She is a strong child, and has inherited your looks. Raise her well," he said as he warped from the room, exit punctuated by a thunderstorm outside.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: For those who may not know, it's perfectly safe to make love while pregnant, I didn't just write some crazy fetish BS. There has even been research done to see if a compound in ejaculate can induce labor. Hence this crazy headcanon that Gerudo women take advantage of perverted Hylian men to ease their deliveries.**

**(Can you tell I was desperate for a higher word count yet?)**


	26. Chapter 26: In Search Of Spirit

A blue ray of light shone down from the sky atop Death Mountain, transporting the Hero of Time and his guide back from the Sacred Realm. They were deposited right at the peak of the mountain, in front of the entrance to Death Mountain Crater.

"Are you sure you're ready to do this?"

Link shook his head in the affirmative, though his trembling hand betrayed his resolve. Sheik picked it up and laced their fingers together, smiling through their mask. "It's okay, Link. I'll be there to comfort you, as you were for me."

A nod later and the two were on their way into the Great Fairy of Power's fountain. Link was shaking with anticipation far too much to play the ocarina, so Sheik pulled out their harp and played Zelda's Lullaby. The room glowed, and the Great Fairy spun up out of the water.

"Well hello, dearie. Oh, and I see you've brought your prince along too. The little one will be delighted." The Great Fairy motioned behind her, where a small tub of hot water sat with a cushion inside. Laying atop the cushion was a little blue bundle.

'Navi...' Link knelt beside the tub, his fingers outstretched to caress Navi's small forehead. She was sleeping and her breathing was shallow, but he could see that all four wings were sticking out from her back.

Sheik was nervous as they took in the situation, but gathered the necessary courage to ask, "Great Fairy, tell us, will she live? Is Navi going to be okay?"

"The little one is no longer in any pain, though I'm afraid recovery will be quite the long and winding road," the Great Fairy explained. "I've reattached her wing, but I don't think she'll ever be able to use it the way she used to. Flying around, sure. But weight bearing is another issue."

"Thank you Great Fairy, we are all indebted to you and the Great Fairy of Wisdom for easing our injuries." Sheik bowed, grateful that the little fairy's life was spared. As they conveyed their gratitude, they were suddenly hoisted back up by a large finger tucked under their chin.

"Now now, dearie, no groveling. We owe all of our assistance to the Hero of Time for taking up the sword and working to defeat that monster in the castle. All six of us Great Fairies want to see you succeed, and we'll do what we can to make it happen. As for you, well, I love a good romance. How about you repay me by letting me watch sometime, eh?"

The Great Fairy winked as Sheik blushed and tried to hide. 'How long will she take to regain consciousness?' Link asked the fairy, steering the conversation back on track.

"Hard to say. I honestly think the best course of action would be to have her recover in the Kokiri Forest with the Great Deku Tree's sprout."

'I'll take her back, then. It's true that Navi was ordered to me in the beginning, but it's become where I can't imagine us ever parting again. If only we had time, then I would stay beside her every minute of her recovery.' Link stood and turned to Sheik, and Sheik nodded. They picked up the tub, and gathered close to Link as he pulled out his ocarina.

'Thank you Great Fairy,' he said, before wrapping an arm around Sheik and playing the Minuet of Forest.

* * *

><p>After leaving Navi in the care of the Kokiri and the Great Deku Tree's Sprout, Link and Sheik mounted Epona and set out across Hyrule Field. There was only one temple left, and it lied within the territory of the evil king himself- Gerudo Desert.<p>

Link bobbed back and forth on the horse behind Sheik in slumber, his chin every so often bumping up against their shoulder. Link was mentally and physically drained, and not even the two weeks' rest in the Sacred Realm had returned his vigor. Luckily enough, Sheik knew the way to the desert temple, and so they allowed him the little bit of sleep he could gather.

By noon the next day, Epona had reached the entrance to Gerudo Valley. The grand gate that had closed off the Gerudo's stronghold in the past was now gone, however the bridge that led across the grand river had disappeared with it.

The gap was just narrow enough for a horse to clear, however Sheik refused to put another of Link's friends in danger. The fall was steep and would definitely kill the mare should she slip. So instead, Sheik studied the landscape. There were several points along the opposite cliff that could hold a hookshot barb, and that was their best bet to cross.

"It's time for you to wake, Hero," Sheik whispered into his ear, blushing as the sleepy rider squeezed their chest like a pillow.

'Nnn... Morning already?'

"Afternoon, actually. Your full strength will be necessary to cross the desert, so I allowed you your slumber. But now, we need to cross this gorge, and I am not strong enough to hold you." Sheik pointed to the hookshot target, and Link took the hint. After pulling his gear from Epona's saddle, he sent the horse back to the ranch, then grabbed Sheik and fired his new longshot across the gorge.

Once safely on the other side, Sheik called Link's attention to a tent tucked away behind an outcropping. Inside they found the head village carpenter, who Sheik introduced to Link as Anju's father, Mutoh.

"Oi, if it isn't Miss Impa's little charge, Sheik! Am I ever glad you're here. Listen to this! Those Gerudo thieves... they broke the bridge after me and the boys came here to deliver some wood at their request! What snakes! I want to fix it, but all of my workers are gone. They said working as carpenters isn't cool, and they went to the Gerudo's Fortress to become thieves... I swear I'll throttle each and every one of them if I ever see them again!"

Sheik was a little suspicious. "Mutoh, the Gerudo asked you to come here? How odd... Unless their plan was to strand the village's only carpenters on the other side of Hyrule."

'Makes sense in a way. Then there'd be no one to rebuild the town after Bongo Bongo set fire to it.' Link's thoughts went unheard by the carpenter, but Sheik quickly translated.

"Yeah, them snake women originally came to us as part of a truce," Mutoh explained. "The one I talked to said she didn't necessarily agree with what their king been doing. Now that you say the town got attacked, I'm bettin you're right."

'We need to rescue the other carpenters so they can help repair Kakariko Village,' Link said to Sheik. 'But that doesn't solve the problem of the bridge.'

"Mutoh, if we bring the men back, do you have enough material here to rebuild that bridge?" Sheik asked and received an affirmative nod, so they sat down with Link to form a plan.

"I've only been to the Gerudo Fortress once, about five years ago when Impa was training me." Sheik drew a hasty map for Link, pointing out several entrances. "There are regular patrols, and I can tell you from experience that they do not take well to outsiders. Our best bet will be to travel along the rooftops and to take out any patrolling guards with haste. We will move when the sun sets, for where Spirit thrives in the sun, Shadow succeeds in its absence."

* * *

><p>'I really wish both my eyes worked right now...' Link mumbled to himself as he sat in the Gerudo's prison, kicking a stone across the floor. Sheik had warned him to stay in the shadow as they crept into the fortress, which he did until he mistook a gap in his vision for a clear road. Instead he tripped over a small crate, and knocked right into a patrolling soldier. Sheik was already up ahead, so he did what he could to protect them and pretended he was alone.<p>

"Stupid kid! Get in there and keep quiet!" the guard yelled as she tossed him in the cell, taking his sword from him but little else. At least one good thing came of his physical limitations- they could torture him all they wanted, and he could never reveal Sheik.

"Having fun?"

Link looked up and smiled, finding Sheik sitting on a gap in the wall, with their arms and legs crossed in mock anger.

"You're extremely lucky that you are attractive, otherwise they would have thrown you in a leever pit." Sheik placed a grappling hook over the wall and leapt down, earning a hug from the trapped hero.

'What does it matter that I'm attractive?' he asked, naivete sparkling on his face.

"The Gerudo are a race of women, and they are always in search of good males to sire their children. And you are quite the sire, young hero," Sheik jabbed, able to see Link's bright blush despite the darkness.

"While you were playing prisoner, I managed to find and release three of the carpenters. I think the last one is in the room across from this one, though we will need your new shoes to reach it," Sheik explained as they climbed out of the prison.

The guide's intuition was correct. Shiro, the final carpenter, was being held in a double cell. When Sheik entered the cell to pick the lock on Shiro's door, the other door clanged shut, trapping them.

Link barely had time to react before hearing a guard drop down, and spun around to face her. "What's this? Not one but two brats have snuck their way into our fortress? And one's a Sheikah? Let me show you what we do to intruders!"

The guard pulled out a pair of scimitars and launched at Link. Link rolled away and pulled out his bag of deku nuts- he had yet to find his sword, so he would have to disarm the guard for a fair fight.

"Link, don't let her use the _uzumakiken_ on you!" Sheik screamed from their confinement. "It's their special attack, and disorients the victim enough to enable capture! She'll duck right before she unleashes it!"

"Shut up, _kedamono!_" the guard yelled during a glare to Sheik, giving Link the opportunity he needed to hurl a handful of Deku Nuts at her. She flinched and he ran up, kicking her in the stomach and wrenching one of the blades from her hands. He then used it to defeat her, and tied her unconscious body up in the corner.

"Took you long enough," Sheik joked as Link came over and unlocked their cell. Shiro thanked the two of them and ran out, leaving the hero and guide to strategize.

'You know, I rather like the idea of you locked up in a cell. I thought you were sharp enough to spot a trap door,' Link teased.

Sheik jabbed back. "Well at least I'm not the one who got caught by tripping over a box and smashing into a guard."

"That's right, you're the one who got caught by tripping over a scarecrow."

Link shoved Sheik behind him at the unfamiliar voice in defense, and discovered a Gerudo officer standing on the other side of the bars. "I remember that, it was so funny, we almost didn't believe it was happening." The Gerudo then took a glance at Link's defensive pose. "Calm down, blondie, I'm not your enemy."

Sheik came out from behind Link and stared down the Gerudo officer. "I don't know you."

"No, you wouldn't. Your mama swept down and plucked you away before we could teach you a lesson. My name is Aveil. I knew Impa pretty well from before the war, and she asked us to treat you kindly." Aveil looked from Sheik to Link, and smirked. "She never said anything about treating your boyfriend well, but he's awfully sharp to be able to disarm a Gerudo and defeat her with her own weapon. The girls used to think that all men, besides the great Ganondorf, were useless... but I'm sure that now they've seen you and what you can do, they won't think so anymore!"

Link and Sheik looked at each other in disbelief. 'I didn't think earning the Gerudo's trust would be this easy...'

"You... knew Impa?" Sheik stepped out from the cage and stood before Aveil. "She never told me she was friendly with the Gerudo. I mean after all, given the circumstances you would never expect a Sheikah to be on good terms with the race that spawned the demon king." Aveil scowled, causing Sheik to step back. "Uh, I didn't mean to put it that way..." they quickly defended, suddenly weary that the Gerudo captain would rescind her truce.

"...We are well aware that our king is not acting in the best interests of our people. But to call him a demon is unwarranted. Your people went through a similar oppression and were saved only by acquiescing to the Hyrule king's demands. Our king kept up the fight, and when diplomacy failed to work, he turned to action. Now, we will admit that he chose the wrong action. But he is still our king and to call him a demon is to call us that as well."

Aveil looked at the somber faces of the pair in front of her, reeling from her speech. "Well at least I know you paid attention. Come on, I'll give you your sword back and a room to rest in for the night. I anticipate you'll want to speak with our leader in the king's absence. The exalted Nabooru can be found in the Spirit Temple, out beyond the Haunted Wasteland. And believe me, you'll need every bit of energy to make it through intact."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: The Gerudo speaking Japanese is a nod to my other fic "Identities". Someday I'll get around to making that Gerudo language...**


	27. Chapter 27: Convergence

At noon, after a long and well earned rest, Sheik and Link set out for the Haunted Wasteland and the Spirit Temple beyond. Navigating the wasteland was fairly easy thanks to the Gerudo's guide markers, but they had to utilize the services of a local spectre to make it to the Desert Colossus. By then it was nightfall, and the two took up camp by a small rock formation.

'I never thought I'd be spending the night out in the open under a Gerudo sky,' Link mumbled as he laid out their bedroll. When he was finished he looked for Sheik, finding them over by a stone depression in the sand. He watched as they pulled out their lyre and played the Song of Storms, causing the depression to fill with water from the short lived tempest.

"I know you're over there, hero." Sheik turned their head and motioned for him to come over. "Come here and I will wash the sand out of your hair."

Link obliged, removing his clothing down to his undershorts and sitting in the water. "Your hair has gotten long," Sheik mumbled as they ran their fingers through it. "It's very handsome. I've always liked long hair on men, it's a shame such a thing is considered too feminine to be common..." Sheik massaged Link's head and rinsed out all the dirt from the Haunted Wasteland, then allowed him to rest in the pool.

'Where did you get the idea to use the Song of Storms to turn this into an oasis?' Link asked as Sheik rubbed his ears. 'I would have never thought to make it rain in the desert.'

"I like thunder and lightning," Sheik said as they laid their head atop Link's. "It's... soothing. I think rain storms are Farore's way of letting the other Two know that everything can be overcome. The tough, strong land and the clear blue skies can both be humbled by a gray cloud and a few drops of water. When I was a child in Ikana, I made friends with the Garo. They taught me how to make the most of unwinnable and improbable situations. And I would call water in the desert an improbable situation."

When Link was finished in the water, the two laid on the bedroll and looked up at the stars. 'What do you think will happen once I awaken the last sage?'

"...This isn't the last sage," Sheik admitted. "It is the last you need to awaken, but there are seven in total. Six of them need to be in the Sacred Realm to create the seal, and one needs to be here to tell them when to do so."

'Are you the seventh sage?'

"Of course not, silly."

'Good.' Link rolled onto his side and squeezed Sheik tightly. 'Then it can be the Princess for all I care.'

"That's good because she **is** the seventh sage," Sheik giggled. "But you need not worry about her. She has the Triforce of Wisdom and learned self defense from Impa. If anything happens to her, she will be able to hold her own until you get there. Now go to sleep, hero. What will happen is that you will climb Ganon's Tower, and I'm sure he has it filled with minions to get in your way. You will need all of your strength."

'Give me pleasant dreams, and I be able to gather it.'

* * *

><p>"Do you remember what I told you about the Master Sword?" Sheik asked as they approached the temple entrance after sunrise. "It's a ship with which you can sail upstream and downstream through time's river... A ship whose port you are quite familiar with by now."<p>

'The Temple of Time, right? So I have to go there and return here as a child to proceed...'

"Correct, Link. Are you ready for one last song?" Sheik pulled out their harp, watching their lover light up at its sight. "Listen to this Requiem of Spirit... This melody will lead a child back to the desert."

The somber notes of the pair's last song spread through the air, and Link couldn't help but feel uneasy. When they were finished he tucked his ocarina away and pulled Sheik close to his chest, tucking his head over their shoulder. 'I love you Sheik...'

"And I love you, Link." Sheik kissed the side of his head, and comforted him. "I know how stressed you are. After this temple you will need to face Ganondorf, but I can assure you, you will not do it alone. I will be there to help you, as will the Princess and the Sages. Have faith..."

Sheik closed their eyes, enjoying what could quite possibly be their last moment of calm, when they suddenly felt a rush of panic. Opening their eyes, they saw their fears had come to life, in the form of a knife headed straight for the hero's back. All they could do was spin themself around.

"How cute, the boy who thinks he is a hero and the little Sheikah Princess playing house in the desert oasis..." Agahnim stepped forward from the shadows, driving his knife into what he thought would be the hero's back. But Sheik had managed to turn him around, and instead became the target.

Sheik screamed in pain when the knife slid into their lower back. They had enough energy to shove Link forward, just as a sandstorm picked up around the temple entrance. "Link, go! Awaken the sage and kill Ganondorf!"

'SHEIK! _SHEIK!_' Link screamed and tried to move through the sandstorm, but reduced visibility on top of a blind eye left him helpless. A sudden cyclone picked him up and tossed him over by the pond, and his fall onto the rocks knocked him out.

"Be QUIET, my little Sheik," Agahnim barked after Sheik shoved Link away, slamming the injured guide into the brick platform and squinting for the hero. "Blast it all, he's gone. Oh my dear, have you ever earned my ire. I spend the morning cleaning up afterbirth, and now I'll have to spend the evening groveling to the Master after letting that brat get away. "

Sheik coughed up a bit of blood, then began laughing. "You and your master are doomed. Link will prevail, and you'll be forced to spend eternity locked in the deepest vaults of hell..."

Agahnim had enough, and hurled Sheik into the stone walls of the temple. Sheik lost consciousness rapidly, but not before sending a short telepathic message to Zelda.

_The two of you are on your own now. Please take care of the hero, Princess. For me..._


	28. Chapter 28: Princess Zelda

**Note: violent chapter ahead!**

* * *

><p>Agahnim marched through the halls of Ganondorf's castle, dragging the unconscious and bleeding Sheik behind him. "Oh my little Sheikah princess, how I wish you hadn't made me do those things back there. Now I'll have to patch you up before we have our fun."<p>

He headed straight for the top of the tower, where Ganondorf sat in front of a large organ. The king stopped playing when he heard Agahnim enter, and turned to see what the mage had brought him.

"Agahnim, I told you to bring me the boy and Princess. What is this riff raff? Why have you brought me a broken and bleeding Sheikah?"

"Master, do you remember when I said the Princess Zelda would use a decoy to throw off your suspicion? Well not only did she do so, but she chose a very special Sheikah to play the part. Meet my little Sheikah princess, Sheik." Agahnim tossed Sheik to the ground in front of the throne, knocking them awake. Sheik dizzily looked around, but couldn't focus and vomited on the floor.

Ganondorf sneered at the action, and kicked Sheik in the jaw for dirtying his floor. Sheik whined, then let out a scream of pain as Ganondorf picked them up by the neck. "Ah, the hero's whore, if I'm not mistaken. Tell me, Sheikah slut, did you like the dreams we sent your way? Did my shadow make you come faster than your hero does?"

Sheik's only reply was to spit in Ganondorf's face.

"Oh, you little fucker." Ganondorf slammed Sheik right into the organ bench, doing so with such force that a few of Sheik's ribs snapped. "I will see to it that you suffer a long and painful death, and not only that, but your final moments will come in the presence of your little bastard hero. Not only will you suffer, but I will make him suffer as well!"

Sheik felt themself tossed to the side and hoisted up, but their vision was too clouded by blood and pain to see what was happening. Trying to remain sane, their thoughts drifted to the one thing that made them happy. _Link... You're almost there, just save the Sage of Spirit and then you can save Hyrule. I'm so proud of you..._

* * *

><p>Link woke heavily disoriented, but managed to remember his mission. The man that attacked them was Agahnim, clear as day. How he survived incineration, Link didn't know. All he knew was that he hurt Sheik.<p>

Link ran back into the Spirit Temple, searching for a clue as to Agahnim's location. The temple looked like it had been undisturbed for years, save for a pair of scrolls tacked to the walls. Agahnim wasn't here. The temple didn't even look used anymore. That left one place he could be, Ganon's Tower, and Link would need the Sage of Spirit to reach it.

As he ran back outside, a dark stain on the bricks caught his eye. It trailed over to the wall, where a similar stain coated the stone. A faint glimmer shone in the corner of Link's vision, and he looked to the ground. Something gold stuck out of the sand, and his heart dropped when he found it- Sheik's lyre. He gripped it and cursed.

_When I get a hold of the two of them, so help me Nayru I will eviscerate them with my bare hands!_

Heeding Sheik's advice, he returned to the temple as a child. It looked less abandoned, and he managed to find a lone Gerudo inside. She was struggling to fit through a hole in the left wall, cursing Ganondorf several times when she couldn't fit.

_Must be Nabooru..._

Link tugged on her sleeve, still not used to being a child again. She jumped up in a defensive stance, but relaxed when she saw it was just a small boy.

"I haven't seen you around, kid... What do you want?" She watched as Link pointed at the large gray stone on the opposite side of the temple.

"To see the temple? You're just a kid! The temple is no place for kids! Shoo."

Link shook his head, this time pulling the note Aveil gave him from his pocket and handing it to her.

"So Aveil has a soft spot for cute kids. Whatever. Again, shoo. No, wait! I have an idea. You like sneaking around? How about you sneak through this hole for me? Ganondorf and his minions are using the Spirit Temple as a hideout. Only the Silver Gauntlets will allow me to sneak deep into the temple, but of course they're hidden somewhere behind this hole. Once I get past that big block, I'm going to steal all the treasure inside and mess up their plans!"

_Oh don't you worry. Once I awaken you, you'll do more than mess up their plans..._

* * *

><p>Link successfully fetched the Silver Gauntlets, but cursed when he caught the twin witches taking Nabooru away. He returned to the present and used the gloves to enter the temple, angry that he had to waste time searching for her. He found her in the topmost room, and easily defeated her captors with the help of a new shield discovered along the way.<p>

The second he touched down on the Desert Colossus warp panel after awakening Nabooru as the Sage of Spirit, Link pulled out his ocarina and played the Prelude of Light. There was one thing on his mind, and that was killing. Killing Agahnim. Killing Ganondorf. Killing anyone who touched his Sheik.

When the Temple of Time materialized around him, Link drew his sword and bolted for the door. However, a cloaked figure appeared from nowhere and blocked his way.

"I have been waiting for you, Link."

'Get. Out. Of. My. Way,' he sneered, but the figure could not understand him.

"Link, the Hero of Time... You have overcome many hardships and awakened six Sages. And now, you have a final challenge, a showdown with Ganondorf, the King of Evil... Before that, I have things I want to tell only to you. Please listen."

Out of patience, Link raised his sword and pointed it at the figure. The figure sensed his hostility, and raised their left hand. It began to glow, and the mark of the Triforce came into view. The left triangle was highlighted. Link suddenly knew who was in front of him, and lowered his sword.

'Zelda.'

Zelda removed her hood, and gave Link a slight bow. "I apologize for meeting you in disguise, but it was necessary to hide from the King of Evil. Please forgive me... On that day, seven years ago, Ganondorf attacked Hyrule Castle. I saw you as I was escaping from the castle with my attendant, Impa. I thought I should entrust the Ocarina to you. I thought that would be our best chance..."

Link shook his head, and gave her one word. 'Move.' She chose to ignore it.

"As long as you had the Ocarina in your possession, I thought Ganondorf could never enter the Sacred Realm, but... something I could never expect happened. After you opened the door of time, the Master Sword sealed you away in the Sacred Realm... Your spirit remained in the Sacred Realm, and then the Triforce fell into Ganondorf's hands. He went on to invade the Sacred Realm. Ganondorf had become the Evil King, and the Sacred Realm became a world of evil. All of this is an unfortunate coincidence."

This time Link yelled at Zelda, and for emphasis pulled out his most treasured possession in hopes that she would let him go. When she saw it, her eyes went wide.

"Link, why do you have that lyre?"

'I have to save Sheik. MOVE!'

She seemed to understand that time, and raised her hands into the air. "If you're going to face Ganondorf, then you will need the power of Light to destroy him. Take these arrows with you."

As Link moved to take Zelda's gift, the Temple started shaking. "That rumbling... it can't be!?" Zelda gasped, then screamed as a pink crystal surrounded her. Link ran forward and pounded on the material, but it would not give way.

"Ah, the cause of Hyrule's misfortune finally shows herself..."

Link cringed when he heard the voice of his enemy. "I commend you for avoiding my pursuit for seven long years. But you let your guard down... I knew you would appear if I let this kid wander around! Thanks for the help, little hero, now I have another prize to add to my collection. Good timing, too, as the little Sheikah princess is damaged and needs to be replaced."

'YOU LEAVE SHEIK ALONE _DO YOU HEAR ME?!_'

"Heh. If you want your sluts back, come get them." The crystal holding Zelda vanished, and Link knew just where it was headed.


	29. Chapter 29: Final Confrontation

**Note: violent chapter ahead! If you've read this far, I'm going to assume that you've played or at least seen footage of the battles at the end of the game. This story isn't really about them, so that's why I didn't go into extensive detail.**

* * *

><p>Destroying the barriers protecting Ganondorf's keep was little effort for Link, his anger fueling his drive forward. He raced up the steps of the inner tower, slicing down several lizalfos and iron knuckles. When he thought he had reached the top, he found only a locked door.<p>

"The key's over here."

Link took his time turning around, knowing exactly who it was that taunted him. Sure enough, Agahnim was leaning against the opposite wall, twirling the key around his finger.

"You took my Princess's purity. We had hoped to have the shadow demon do it, after all physical pain would have made the mental pain all that more real. But I guess I should give you some credit, after all you lasted a lot longer than the average virile male would. I wonder if her silly insistence that she's not female had anything to do with that?"

The hero growled, grabbing a torch from a nearby sconce and whipping it at the mage.

"Oh no, boy, I'm not falling for the same trick twice," Agahnim quipped as he ducked the torch. He lashed out with a wave of dark magic, which Link sliced back with his sword. But instead of returning like in the battle with Phantom Ganon, the wave split into six fragments and two hit Link in the stomach.

Link shook it off and lunged at the mage, finding that his sword strikes phased right through him.

"Heh, what's wrong, never seen duplication magic before?" Link did not have time to react before he was hit in the back of the head, the Agahnim in front of him dissolving. The real Agahnim stepped out from behind, brandishing a flail. He smacked Link again, causing the hero to collapse onto the floor unconscious.

"What a stupid kid," Agahnim growled, before dragging Link by his leg into the main room where his master was waiting. "Master, your guest has arrived!" High above the organ in front of the evil king, Zelda watched from her imprisonment as the mage tossed the hero to the floor. Suddenly her right hand lit up with the glow of the Triforce of Wisdom. Link's immobile hand lit up as well, causing Ganondorf to stop playing.

"The Triforce parts are resonating... They are combining into one again... The two Triforce parts that I could not capture on that day seven years ago... I did not expect they would be hidden within you two! And now, finally, all the Triforce parts have gathered here. These toys are too much for you! I command you to return them to me!"

Agahnim grinned as his master approached the unconscious hero, and moved to the side to get a better view. Suddenly Link sprang up from his feint, gripping the Master Sword and slashing it across Agahnim's chest.

"Guahh!" Agahnim screamed as he fell backward, giving Link an opening to thrust the sword through his ribs.

'For what you did to Navi!' Link hissed, and kicked the slain mage from his blade.

"Heh heh heh, the Hero of Time has finally learned how to use his surroundings in battle," Ganondorf mused as he regarded his fallen captain. "You've taken my Sheikah from me, boy. I guess then that it is only fair I do the same." He moved from in front of the organ bench with a flourish of his cape, and kicked it forward. When it hit the ground, a body fell out from it.

'SHEIK!'

Ganondorf used a wave of dark magic to keep Link at bay as he knelt over the unconscious and bleeding guide. "Your woman is weak, hero. Normally, cornered mice will attempt to bite the cat who trapped them. But in her case, she chose to insult me instead of fight." He wrapped his hand around their neck and jaw, squeezing until Link could hear the jawbones cracking.

'STOP IT! _LEAVE THEM ALONE!_'

"Oh no, boy. She brought this upon herself. Too bad she lacks the curves of a woman, her face was quite lovely..." Ganondorf used his fingernails to scratch at Sheik's cheek, then turned his attention to her stomach. "Perhaps we should have her awake for this, after all she'll want to see how much pain is on your face..."

'GODDESSES, **NO**!' Link panicked and Zelda screamed, but neither could keep Ganondorf from returning Sheik to consciousness. Sheik's eyes darted open, immediately grimacing from the broken jaw.

"Look, little Sheikah, your knight in shining armor has come to watch you die."

Sheik's eyes widened, and they frantically scanned the room as best they could without moving. Out of the corner of their eye they could see Link trembling. Without warning Ganondorf dragged his nails across their stomach, slicing through their clothing and leaving large gashes across their midsection. He grabbed their neck again, this time hoisting them up into the air and holding a knife to their throat.

"Say goodbye to your hero, Sheikah."

A sudden spark of energy broke out from across the room, and Ganondorf turned in time to see an arrow headed his way. He threw Sheik to the side and dodged it, before another one hit his leg. Link had managed to break the evil king's barrier with Zelda's Light Arrows, and while Ganondorf seethed, he rushed to the fallen Sheikah's side.

'Sheik...' Tears slid down Link's face as he held Sheik to his chest. 'Please... hang on...'

Sheik managed to grip Link's hand as their life faded from them, and used the contact to send him a message. _Link... hurry... kill that monster and save Hyrule. If not for the Princess, then for Navi..._

'No, Sheik! Stay with me! SHEIK!' Sheik's arm fell from Link's hand, and Link screamed through his tears. 'Hang on, love... hang on...'

Link stood, rage clouding his vision. He lunged at Ganondorf, just as the evil king finished shaking off the Light Arrow's magic. Link sliced back the bolt of magic Ganondorf threw at him, then fired another Light Arrow. This time Link was close enough to strike, and drove the Master Sword through the evil king's chest.

"GRAHHH!" Ganondorf recoiled in pain, but managed to catch Link's shoulder with his knife. Link jumped back, reflecting another magical blast.

"You rotten kid, you think you will be able to beat me using my own magic? Burn in hell!" The evil king started summoning a large orb of energy above his head to throw at Link, but Link was smarter and used the distraction to fire a Light Arrow into Ganondorf's chest wound. It caused him to lose focus and fall to the ground, where Link was waiting with a spin attack.

It connected, causing Ganondorf to stagger and collapse. "The Great Evil King Ganondorf... beaten by this kid?!" He vomited blood before reaching out to Link. "If I die, you and your women die with me!"

The entire tower started shaking, causing Zelda's crystalline prison to fall to the floor and shatter, setting her free. "Link, listen to me! This tower will collapse soon! With his last breath, Ganondorf is trying to crush us in the ruins of the tower! We need to hurry and escape! Over here!" Zelda ran over to a set of bars on the wall, which disappeared once exposed to her magic. She turned expecting to find Link behind her, but instead he was fetching Sheik.

"Come ON! We don't have much time!" Zelda recoiled in horror at the dirty look Link gave her for suggesting that he leave Sheik, and instead ran ahead to open the other gates.

Link cradled Sheik to his chest as he followed the Princess. 'It's okay, I'll get you out. Just hang on...' He ducked and dodged the falling debris, and made it out of the tower with Zelda just as it collapsed.

Ganondorf's body lay in a pile of rubble at the center of the foundation. Zelda quickly called upon the Sages to seal him before he recovered. "Ancient Creators of Hyrule! Now, open the sealed door and send the Evil Incarnation of Darkness into the void of the Evil Realm!"

The evil king cursed as the Sages portal swallowed him up into the confines of the Sacred Realm. When it was over, Zelda turned to Link. "Thank you, Link. Thanks to you, Ganondorf has been sealed inside the Evil Realm! Thus, peace will once again reign in this world..."

But Link was not paying attention. He had already started towards the Great Fairy of Courage's fountain, his battered and broken love in his arms. Peace may once again come to Hyrule, but he had no cause to look forward to it as the one person he fought for was dying.


	30. Chapter 30: Moving On

A hazy ray of sunshine crept in through the curtain of the makeshift Kakariko Hospital, landing on the foot of one very forlorn hero. He stared at the light from the setting sun, himself dead to the world. Even the loud and clunky footsteps of Princess Zelda as she approached couldn't raise him from his misery.

"Link? Link, come now, you must snap out of this depression. The healers have said there is nothing more to be done." Zelda became impatient as minutes passed without acknowledgement by Link. Resorting to cold hard fact, she spoke further. "Face it Link, Sheik will never wake up. She's as good as dead."

Link flew from his chair and pounded a fist into the nearby table at hearing such a statement, causing Zelda's escort Gonzo to shove himself between the two in the soon to be queen's defense.

'Get out,' Link ordered, hissing through his teeth in case Zelda couldn't infer his wishes from context. She huffed and marched out, leaving Link to slump back down into his chair. The hero laid his hand on the bed next to him, picking up a fragile hand and lacing its fingers with his own.

It had been a whole month since Ganondorf's defeat. Link had painstakingly tended to every single cut, scrape, gash, and broken bone in Sheik's body, making sure no injury had a chance to worsen. Sheik's throat had been the center of attention, and Link had fashioned a brace to keep their head steady while their body worked to repair the damage Ganondorf had inflicted to their jaw.

Link washed and dressed Sheik every day, he shampooed and combed their hair, and he fed them potions to keep up their energy. Sheik still hadn't woken up, but he absolutely refused to resign himself to their death. Sheik was going to wake up. And when they did, the two of them would move to Clock Town together and start their family.

* * *

><p>"Fairy boy? Are you in here?"<p>

Link lifted his head from the edge of Sheik's bed, disoriented. When had he fallen asleep?

"Oh, there you are!" It was Malon, the girl he had saved on the ranch. "Papa told me I might find you in Kakariko, and then the villagers said you were in here taking care of someone." The ranch girl walked over and opened the curtain, making Link aware that it was morning.

"I wanted to come looking for you because Epona's been antsy. When are you going to ride her again?"

Link looked at Malon, before slowly shaking his head and pointing at Sheik.

"Ohh, I see. This guy is real important to you, huh? So you want to be by his side until he recovers... How romantic! Well, I'll take care of Epona for you, no problem. I'll even be sure to keep an eye out for a good horse for your friend. I'm sure the two of you will want to ride when he wakes up. Take care, now."

Malon left almost as quickly as she had arrived, and Link was once again alone with Sheik.

'I wish everyone would leave us alone...' he said as he crawled onto the bed and held Sheik tight. 'I've been thinking. You said you always loved attending the Carnival of Time as a child, right? I want my first Carnival of Time to be memorable, and one of the best ways to do that would be to make it a significant event in our lives. Did you know Anju used to live in Termina? She told me about a tradition they have in Clock Town, where a couple will exchange masks at the start of the ceremony. If they do, they'll have good luck for the rest of their lives. I want to do that. I want everybody to know that I'm your mate, Sheik, and that you are mine.'

* * *

><p>The day continued much as it began, with several people bothering Link throughout the day. Zelda wanted Link to go round up Ganondorf's remaining sympathizers. Gonzo wanted Link to "give up on the impossible for the Princess's sake". The Zora delegation wanted to discuss matters relating to Ruto's engagement. The Goron delegation wanted to be regaled with tales of how their sworn brother overcame the fiery dragon. Link had gotten so fed up with it all that he collected their things, carefully gathered Sheik into his arms, and used their lyre to warp to the Desert Colossus, the one place he knew they would not be bothered.<p>

Link carried Sheik into the Spirit Temple and rode the elevator to the main chamber. He always admired the Gerudo sense of style, even if it was somewhat intimidating. Choosing a corner near the Goddess statue, Link laid Sheik atop his bedroll.

'Sorry you have to trade the hospital mattress for this old thing. But at least we have a lot of memories inside these covers,' he grinned as kissed Sheik's forehead. Once the rest of his unpacking was finished, he pulled out his old fairy ocarina. He was glad to be rid of the Ocarina of Time; despite the wonderful memories he had of playing together with Sheik, the ocarina itself had been nothing but a catalyst for grief. Right after The End, he gave it and the Master Sword back to Zelda. He no longer wanted to hold time in his hands.

Link brought his first instrument to his lips and played the first song he ever learned. He needed someone to talk to, and hopefully it was someone who understood.

"Hey, Link, how are you?" Saria's voice echoed through the Gerudo hall. "Is Sheik still...?"

'...Yes. I don't know what else to do. We... had to leave the hospital.'

"What? Why? That was the best place for Sheik to recover, you know." Saria's scolding was gentle, but her undertone was clear. "Sheik needs someplace stable to come back to themself. You can't just pick them up and bolt at the first sign of inconvenience."

'But, they just wouldn't leave us alone!' Link dropped his fairy ocarina as he stood in protest. 'They kept telling me to abandon Sheik. How could I do that? I can't abandon the love of my life just like that! Zelda and the others are heartless, and I want nothing to do with them!' Link pounded his fist on the wall as he yelled. 'She even wanted to send me back to my childhood, back before all this began. Can you imagine what _pain_ that would cause Sheik? To wake up after all that hardship, only to find out that the one person who lives his life for you was eliminated from the world? It would kill them!'

"But that would prevent the tragedies caused by Ganondorf from happening in the first place, wouldn't it?" Saria asked.

Link was angry. 'Of course it wouldn't! I may not know as much about time as you sages do, but I'm pretty sure the present would still be the present. Who's to say that me going back would even matter? Sheikah lore says the Triforce is all knowing, all seeing, and all being. If you crack it once, you crack it in every instance that it exists. Send me back, and it will still have been cracked. Zelda will still be wisdom, I'll still be courage, and Ganondorf will now be power. And Sheik will still be the poor little girl who was abused by that rat bastard Agahnim, crying themself to sleep every night in Ikana Canyon because the person who would become their mother never came and delivered them from pain. I'm not doing that to them. I'm not destroying any more lives.' Link laid back down and curled up next to Sheik. 'Sorry Saria, I don't want to talk anymore. I thought you could help, but you only made it hurt. Please go away now.'

"You've grown a lot Link," Saria said, proud of her friend. "I'll leave you in peace. But before I go, The Great Deku Tree Sprout tells me Navi is almost recovered. She'll come back to you in a couple months, and maybe then you can all work out a treatment for Sheik together. Is that fine? Will that be okay?"

No response. Emotionally drained from all that he had gone through, Link had cried himself to sleep.

* * *

><p>Thunder rumbling stirred Link awake. <em>"I like thunder and lightning," Sheik said as the pair sat in the oasis. "It's... soothing. I think rain storms are Farore's way of letting the other Two know that everything can be overcome. The tough, strong land and the clear blue skies can both be humbled by a gray cloud and a few drops of water."<em>

'Sheik, it's raining in the desert,' Link said as he brushed Sheik's hair from their forehead. 'Such an odd thing to happen...'

"But not impossible."

Link looked up when he heard a meek voice answer his thought. A Gerudo woman stood nearby with an infant in her arms. Only, she wasn't quite a Gerudo now that he got a good look at her. She had distinctive green eyes, something that only comes from those born of the forest.

"It rains maybe two or three times a year out here in the Colossus. This is not the first rainfall I've seen since Mia's birth, however," the woman motioned to the sleeping child, who couldn't have been more than two months old. "The first was the night she was born."

'You... understood what I was saying?' Link asked, receiving a nod from the stranger.

"I blame all my quirks on the forest blood within me. You... you're not going to kill her or take her away from me, are you?" she asked, clutching her child tightly to her chest.

Link sat upright and shook his head furiously. 'No, of course not! Why would I kill your baby? I'm sorry, we've intruded, we didn't mean to bothe-'

"Given what her father put all of Hyrule through, I feared that was why you had come... My name is Marin, you see, and Mia is **his** child..."

Link gasped ever so slightly. He had no idea Ganondorf left an heir behind. Guessing from the time frame, it's possible Ganondorf didn't even know either. He never made any mention of a child during the confrontation.

'Your child, did he...?'

"Yes, he knew about her." Marin smiled and rocked the baby back and forth. "He was here when I gave birth to her, but he left shortly after. That was the last I had seen him. I know what he did to Hyrule was cruel, as I was there for every second of it. But part of me believes Mia was his way of repenting."

'I don't follow.'

"Mia carries on the Gerudo legacy. Ganondorf was a man truly corrupted by evil influences. I'm sure you met those evil witches who raised him. But Mia has the whole world in front of her. Even Lady Nabooru thinks she can be a great person by using the noble genes of her ancestors for good." Marin was full of praise for the little girl. "I just hope people see past her parentage..."

Link stood from Sheik's side and walked over to Marin. He peered down at the little Mia and smiled. He sensed no evil aura from her, no threat of danger. She was just an innocent little child with a loving mother to protect her. 'The Gerudo are strong people. They'll worship their little princess,' he reassured. 'Tell me, how did you end up at his side?'

"I used to work at Hyrule Castle as a stable maid. He found me after the castle had been taken over, when I was trying to set his horse free. Rather silly, really. After that he took me as his _kougou_. I guess the closest Hylian language translation would be 'consort', though it really didn't feel that way. I was more like his slave." Marin lowered her head. "I always told myself that he treated me the way he did because he had to keep up appearances, and that deep down I was loved. Then Lady Nabooru told me not to think that way. He might have liked me, but he didn't treat me the way a loved one should be treated. He was abusive, but I was strong enough to survive that abuse. Mia is my reward, and we're going to move on."


	31. Chapter 31: Recovery

**Warning, fluff ahead. :3**

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><p>Marin had become a good friend to Link in the days he and Sheik spent in the Spirit Temple. It was quite ironic that the hero would find peace among the race that had bred the terror of Hyrule, even more so that the terror's consort became a friend.<p>

In exchange for tending and playing with Mia, Marin helped Link take care of Sheik. She would go into the Gerudo Fortress to fetch supplies for Sheik's care, and Link would return the favor by hunting for food. Link was grateful for the company, as was sure Sheik appreciated it as well.

So it was that during one of Link's absences, Sheik opened their eyes.

The first thing they felt was disorientation, and couldn't speak or move past the slightest turn of the head. _Ugh... Am I alive? Where am I?_

Sheik tried gleaning their location from the surroundings, and recognized the decor as vaguely Gerudo. But it wasn't the dark and foreboding style that Ganondorf's castle had been; instead it reminded them of the room that they and Link shared in the Gerudo's fortress. They were laying atop a mattress on the floor, tucked inside an all too familiar bedroll. A deep inhale brought them back to their senses- the bed smelled like Link.

The door creaked open, and a woman entered carrying an infant in one hand and a tub of warm water in the other. She did not notice Sheik's alertness, and instead carried the tub over to the table. The infant noticed Sheik immediately, though, and began babbling and pulling on the woman's hair.

"Oh, you're so lively today, Mia. What is it, you miss your friend Link already? He'll be back soon don't worry," Marin cooed to the child, before noticing that Sheik was awake.

"Oh! Thank the Goddesses, you're awake!" She sat Mia in her baby basket, then dipped a cloth in the tub and wiped Sheik's brow. "My name is Marin, I've been helping Link take care of you. Do you know where you are?"

Sheik's voice still hadn't returned, so they gave a small shake in the negative. "I understand. You're inside the Spirit Temple," Marin explained. "It's been about six months since Link defeated Ganondorf and sealed him away. You were gravely injured, so he has spent every second he can taking care of you."

A smile crept up on Sheik's face at the news. "You probably wonder where he is, don't you? He left yesterday for the forest. Your fairy friend has finally recovered, so he went to get her. He'll be overjoyed when he returns to find you awake as well."

Marin sat down beside Sheik and helped them drink a glass of water. "I really admire Link. He came here with you about a month or so after The End. I have Forest blood within me, so I can hear when he speaks, and I happened to overhear a conversation he had with one of the Sages. He was so distraught over what happened to you that he yelled at her. A few days later he realized what he had done was wrong, and was hysterical that he may have lost another friend. I'm truly glad that you're awake, now he has one less burden to bear."

* * *

><p>"Where is Sheik? I want to see Sheik!" Navi bounced up and down on Link's head as he walked through the Spirit Temple, doing her best to expend months of pent up energy. "I'm cold, where's your hat? And why didn't you stay with Sheik? I could have come here myself, you're such a horrible wife to leave him alone like that!"<p>

'Navi, how many times do I have to tell you not to call Sheik a boy?' Link picked Navi up and tucked her inside his tunic to keep warm. 'Sorry about the cold, but that's just the way the temple is. They made it so that the stones block out all the heat of the desert. Our room is much warmer, don't worry.'

"Saria made it sound like Sheik won't be coming back. I don't believe her, but you better have an explanation as to why she's here instead of in the hospital."

'So now Sheik is a girl?' Link teased. '...We left the hospital because they were against us. Zelda wanted me to "move on" and admit that Sheik was dead. Sheik is not dead, I can feel it. We just need to have faith.'

Link opened the door to his room, finding Marin hunched over the bed with an empty bottle in hand. 'Hey, why were you feeding Sheik? It's a little early, isn't it?'

Marin only smiled and stood up, giving the hero a full view of the Sheikah staring back at him. He dropped his things in an instant and dove onto the bed.

'...I was worried you'd never look at me with those adorable crimson eyes again,' he murmured, laying teary and sloppy kisses up and down Sheik's face. Sheik blushed and returned the kisses, as well as they could given their immobility.

A few moments after Link began his smooching, his tunic wiggled and a rather angry fairy flew out. "What are you doing, trying to crush me?! I just healed for Farore's sake, you big melon head!" Navi landed on Sheik's shoulder, giving them a quick kiss on the cheek before turning back to Link. "And just what do you think you're doing, jumping on top of a sick girl like that? You could have hurt him! You'll make a terrible wife, you hear me melon boy?"

Link pouted at the fairy's scolding, causing Sheik to giggle. Marin sat the rest of her medicines out on the table and left with the baby, giving the reunited family some alone time. Sheik wiggled their head a little in an effort to get mobility back in their body, but even if they could move they wouldn't be able to for Link was smothering them.

"Hey, Link! Stop smothering Sheik!" Navi quipped, before he grabbed her and pulled her into their hug.

'Why would I stop? I'm just so happy. Our family is finally whole again.'


	32. Chapter 32: Clock Town

The sounds of carpentry and the voices of eager tradesmen rang out through the air, as Clock Town prepared for the annual Carnival of Time. The Bombers Secret Society of Justice, a local group of eager school children, ran around ensuring everyone was in high spirits. Mayor Dotour and his wife Madame Aroma hired a troupe of performers for the event, and all the people could talk about were the masks created that year.

One mask in particular was creating a lot of anxiety. Its creator stared down at it, one second drawing a line on the face as decoration and the next second smearing it away. "This is never going to work..."

Sheik looked down at the mess in their hands. It was a plain white mask, marked up with the scribbles and lines of several decoration attempts. "I'm pathetic."

"No you're not, kiddo. You're just out of practice," the Curiosity Shop owner said of his employee, leaning over their shoulder to peek at the design in progress. "Don't you remember the mask you made all those years ago at your first Carnival? That was one hell of a mask, and I don't even like the things."

"I was six years old; innocent and still living in the realm of imagination. Such things passed out of my reach once I grew."

"Pollycock. Dampe used to tell me about you, and how you helped him overcome his fears of the shadow folk by making friends with them. It takes a strong imagination to think that as a solution," he said, "and you got that imagination."

Sheik stared at the mask, before an idea came to them. "Shadow folk... The Sheikah were called that in Hyrule. Always in the dark until someone dared bring us light..." They picked up the mask and smiled. "I think I know what I want to do now."

* * *

><p>Sheik laid on the ground beside the laundry pool after hitting another snag in the mask, drawing circles in the water and sighing. Link had gone away for a few days, insistent on meeting the Termina Gerudo now that he was such good friends with their Hylian counterparts. Sheik had agreed, but Link stopped them from going along at the last minute.<p>

"'You can't come, it's a surprise.' Bah, what happened to never leaving someone alone for the rest of their life... Melon head..." Sheik sat up off the grass and dusted their clothing off. They had stopped wearing their body suit since The End, choosing instead to wear loose clothing similar to what Link dressed them in during their recovery. It helped put the memories of war behind them, although there were times when they missed the practicality of the body suit.

Their hair had grown in the time since The Uprising began, and now it was long enough to reach their shoulder blades. Navi had insisted on braiding it and Sheik had indulged her, so now Sheik wore it that way whenever they went out. But the attention was never on them, as Navi had made Link style his hair as well. Something about the Hylian made his hair grow long faster, and the fairy took full advantage of it. Once she had even snuck a flower in his ponytail when he wasn't looking.

Thinking of their friendship made Sheik smile. Navi's recovery had gone as smooth as could be expected given the nature of the injury. She had trouble bearing more than her own weight on the wing, but had regained the ability to carry small objects. Sheik had in return sewed small pockets on all of theirs and Link's clothing, to let Navi ride on them and spare her wing.

Sheik stared at the pocket on their jacket as they walked into the South Clock Town square, wondering what Navi might wear to the Carnival of Time. They weren't paying attention, and smacked right into one of the carpenters working on the carnival tower.

"Hey, watch it, young lady! Don't make me smack this wood off ya face!" the carpenter growled, before a young man in blue shoved him out of the way.

"This here is no lady, my friend. Sheik can take that wood beam and crack it in half with just her thighs, am I right?" He winked at Sheik and nudged their forearm, before Sheik bonked him back.

"No, you're not right, Kafei," Sheik laughed. "Do you have any idea how much pain you can cause with something like that? The splinters could sever your arteries. If you want to break a beam, do it off a thick, solid surface. Like this carpenter's head." The carpenter scoffed at the insult and went on his way, leaving the two to their conversation.

"So, any idea what he's making for the ceremony? Better yet, have **you** decided what you're making? You better stop procrastinating, after all you only get one 'first carnival' and this will be the only chance to make said first carnival into a wedding you'll never forget..."

"Stop making me feel guilty! You and the shop owner are in cahoots, aren't you? It's not like I don't know this is an important Carnival. Hell, I know more than any of you how important this is to Link. All he's talked about since the day we first held each other was how he wanted his first Carnival of Time to be special, and now here it is, and I still don't have any idea how to let him know what I feel!"

Sheik glared at Kafei, until Kafei started glaring back and puffing out his cheeks. Sheik could not keep their composure anymore, and the two started laughing. Kafei was the mayor's son, and had met the two lovers when they first came to Clock Town. He was slow to open up to the pair, but the second he overheard Sheik mention Anju, he stuck to the two like glue, Sheik in particular. Anju was his first love.

"You just have to go with your gut feeling, Sheiky. Like what I did with Anju..."

"You proposed to her when the two of you were sixteen and scared her so bad she fled to Hyrule, where she ended up stranded with her parents until The End."

"Yeah, but she came back to me, didn't she? I got another chance, so long as I don't mention that 'M word' again. Anyways. Don't agonize over this. Think about what Link reminds you of, then focus your energy into creating that. Don't worry if it doesn't resemble a mask. Here, I'll give you your present early, maybe it will help." Kafei handed Sheik a velvet bag, and inside was a bottle of Gold Dust.

"I know what you've been planning to give him as a present, and since you're such a lousy gambler, I went ahead and bet on a winner at the Goron Races for you. You won't need the whole bottle to make a sword, so take a few scoops and use it as part of your mask."

"Thank you, Kafei. You're a good friend, even if you are rather dense." Sheik laughed and hugged their friend. "I'm sure I have the confidence to finish it, now."


	33. Chapter 33: The Carnival of Time

Dawn of the final day before the Carnival of Time came, and Sheik was a nervous wreck.

"I cant. I can't! ...No, I'll be fine, I just... AHH I can't!"

"It's okay, Sheik," Anju said as she rubbed their back. "Everyone gets nervous before their big day. You have nothing to be afraid of."

"That's right, Sheik!" Navi piped in, flying over to rest on Sheik's shoulder. Her and Link had come back last night, but Link decided to stay with Kafei in order to finish his mask as a surprise. Sheik mistook the action to mean that Link did not want to be around them, and thus had gotten upset.

"You don't get it, Navi! I'm going to mess up his special day! Kafei was right, this is Link's first Carnival of Time and I can't afford to ruin it. I just know I'm going to disappoint him, after all I took part of his sight away, I sent him into the well and caused you to get maimed, it's my fault he had to break ties with the Princess, and now he's going to be ruining his reputation by marrying an agender freak who can't even keep her story straight!" Sheik gasped. "Did you hear that? I just used 'her' to refer to myself! WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME?"

"Remind me to kill Kafei when the ceremony is over," Anju said as her and Navi hugged Sheik. "Sheik, didn't you ever notice that during all those days you were in our care, Link never once blamed you for his injuries? All he ever wanted was for you to stop beating yourself up over your identity. It's perfectly fine to be a girl one day and a boy the next, or even to be both and neither at the same time."

"You've just got the jitters, hun. You know, don't tell him I told you but Link went through the same thing yesterday on his way back from Great Bay. We sat outside the Clock Town wall for about two hours while he gathered up his courage," Navi explained. "He was afraid you'd be settling by marrying him. Since he thinks he's not as smart as you. I slapped him several times when he said he didn't think he could go through with it."

"He... he said the same things I did? He was scared?"

"Yes, Sheik! And if you're both worried for the other's feelings, doesn't that mean you're in sync? You two belong together! And I'm going to make it happen, even if I have to drag the two of you by the ears to the clock tower, broken wing be damned!"

"Come on, Sheik. Let's go visit my friend Cremia on her ranch," Anju suggested. "You haven't slept since Link came back. We have eighteen hours before the Clock Tower opens, and I think it would be best for you to relax away from the city so you can get your mind at ease. The high collar jacket you wanted to wear at for the Carnival is finished at the tailor's, so I'll go get it for you. Okay?"

"...Alright. Maybe it is a good idea to rest. Falling asleep during the ceremony is the last thing I want to do."

* * *

><p>Sheik stood at the top of the Clock Tower at 11:30 pm, mask in their trembling hands. They used their stealth to climb the tower ahead of its opening because they were still nervous, and wanted somewhere to gather their thoughts in private. Navi had been attached to Sheik all day; braiding their hair, fussing over their clothing, trying to sneak a look at the mask, etc. The little fairy left no opportunity for the Sheikah to rest, so Sheik just had to get away.<p>

The familiar feeling of company stirred Sheik out of their thoughts, and they turned around to find Link standing behind them. 'Hey.'

Sheik took a step backward, trying to hide their shaking. They hadn't planned on him being here. "H-hey... y-you're ea...early..."

'Yeah, I was trying to get away from Kafei and Mikau, and I thought his would be the best place to hide until it was time... I didn't expect to see you here yet.' Link stepped out of the shadows and brushed his hand over Sheik's cheek. 'You look stunning. I really like the paint under your eyes, they look like little icicles.'

"That was Impa's idea. She said I should wear something to symbolize my family, and she's like my mother so..."

Link leaned down and kissed Sheik's eyelids, interrupting their speech. 'Kafei wanted me to do something similar, but I have no family except for you and Navi. So I got these done instead.' Link motioned to his ears, where blue and purple earrings hung on each side. 'Mikau kind of missed when he pierced the second hole, so one side is closer together than the other...'

Sheik smiled and leaned their head on his chest, before noticing his soiled clothes. "You're wearing your old tunic... That... that's Navi's blood staining the chest..."

'Yes. I wore this tunic the day I met you, and I was wearing it the day you came back to me after The End. It has so many memories, and even though some of them are rotten, I wanted to be wearing it the day we celebrated our new lives together. So I pulled it out of storage.'

The two shifted to sit on the ground, and Sheik sat across Link's lap. Sheik then pulled their mask out. "I missed you terribly while you were in the Great Bay, so much so that I had trouble focusing on completing this. In a way I think my longing became a part of the mask, because though I didn't intend for it, the finished product looks a little like you. You're the light to my shadow, Link, and I wanted something to reflect that. So I sprinkled gold dust into the eyebrows and hair, and painted red stripes around the eyes and brow to honor Sheikah tradition. The blue mark on the forehead is two fold; it's for the blue of your eyes and for our fairy companion."

Sheik was about to say more, until they felt something plop down on their head. Looking up, there was now a pair of floppy yellow ears hanging over their face.

'I had to go to Great Bay to get topazes from the Gerudo for its eyes. My boss at the Post Office helped me make a pattern to sew it with, and I got Navi to measure your head while you slept. She didn't know what I was making, though.'

Link grinned as Sheik played with their new Bunny Hood, then slipped on his Oni Mask for Sheik to see how it looked. 'It's amazing, Sheik. I can really feel your emotions when I wear it. You really have a talent for mask making.'

A toll rang out counting down to midnight, causing Link to smile and grab Sheik's hands. 'Sheik, my love, will you let me be your companion for the rest of my life?'

"No."

The second chime rang out and Link sat back in shock, until Sheik lovingly pushed him over onto the ground.

"But I'll let you be my wife."

The final chime rang out and fireworks erupted, signifying the start of the Carnival of Time. Link laughed and rolled with Sheik on top of the clock face, stopping in the center. The two smiled at each other, before sharing their first kiss as a newlywed couple.

A number of cheers broke out, and Sheik sat up off Link to find that all of their friends were standing around them. "Took you two long enough!" Kafei yelled, before Anju smacked him on the shoulder. Link's boss from the Post Office, the Curiosity Shop owner, and Dampe the grave keeper were clapping. The Romani Ranch sisters, Cremia and Romani, were pouring everyone a glass of Chateau Romani in celebration. And one excited yet angry little fairy came flying toward them carrying two tiny masks.

"You two are BOTH melon heads! Couldn't wait for the Clock Tower to open, could you? You just had to sneak up here early and get everything started without us! We had everything planned, too, and here you've gone and exchanged masks without all of us being present!"

Sheik reached out and picked up the little fairy, then stared in surprise at the small masks in Navi's hands. "Navi, did you make these?"

"Yup. I made them so you don't have to fuse the two you made. Of course, I'm too tiny to make big ones, so I hope they'll do. Yours is a Sheikah eye and his is a replica of the wind emblem, though I kind of goofed up the eyelashes on yours..."

Link picked up the tiny wind emblem and fluffed Navi's hair. 'They're perfect. Do you want to be our witness?'

Navi and the rest of the guests watched as Link and Sheik held the masks together, and in a flash of light they fused into a small Couples Mask that was the perfect size for Navi to wear.

* * *

><p>The new family gathered together as the Carnival of Time got underway, the newlyweds too exhausted to do anything other than walk around and watch the fireworks. Well wishers recognizing Navi's mask bid Link and Sheik congratulations as they walked home, while the Bombers volunteered to keep people from bothering them. As they passed the South Clock Town Gate, Link and Sheik spotted a familiar face approaching from the shadows.<p>

'Wait a minute, Sheik. Over there, isn't that...?'

'It's Shigeru, the mask salesman!"

The Happy Mask Salesman stepped into town, greeting the pair. "Well hello friends, it's been quite some time since we last met. Almost eight years now, wasn't it? Or in your case hero, more like one? I see you have left that terrible fate behind you... Did your lover's mask come in handy for your trip to the well?"

"Link says it was more of a sentimental aid, but we do thank you for returning it to us. I didn't think it had survived, given all I'd been through..." Sheik explained.

"Ah, yes, young master Sheik. You went through many hardships in your short years, perhaps that is why you are able to infuse the masks you make with special attributes... I would be careful with that Oni Mask of yours, Hero of Time. Don't let it absorb your rage..."

Link stared at the mask salesman, knowing he would not understand his words. 'This guy is one weird cookie if you ask me, then and now. I wonder if there really was anything in that box we fetched for him...'

"Shigeru, you had Link and Navi fetch a casket for you from beneath the Kakariko well. I must ask, what was inside of it?" Sheik stood patiently as the salesman scratched his chin. Finally he spoke.

"Oh, my dear Sheikah, I think you know what was in the casket. After all, why would I show interest in ordinary things? Such coincidence that you ask, though, for it is the reason I have come to see you. Inside was a mask, you see. A very, very, very very, VERY important mask. Majora's Mask... It is an accursed item from legend that is said to have been used by an ancient tribe in its hexing rituals. It is said that an evil and wicked power is bestowed upon the one who wears that mask, but the power is thought to have long since fled from it."

"That sounds incredibly dangerous," Sheik said with alarm.

"Oh my, yes. But given your skill with mask making, I'm sure the evil of Majora's Mask can be overcome should need arise. Just have faith..."

Sheik and Link let the Happy Mask Salesman go on his way, and ducked back into the laundry pool toward their apartment. 'He better know what he's doing with that mask. I don't want any more adventures for quite some time,' Link grumbled as he and Sheik soaked their feet in the pool, Navi resting on a lily pad nearby. 'Especially not now that I have a family to look after.'

"When I was a child, the moon almost fell on us here in Termina," Sheik blurted out, leaning up against the retired hero. "Four warriors from each of the four provinces sang a song atop the clock tower, and called forth the Four Giants who put the moon back into the sky. But if you ask any of the citizens, they'll tell you it never happened, because they could not see the truth. That's why I made the Mask of Truth all those years ago, to make people see. I met Shigeru that same night, and it turned out that he saw the whole thing. That's how I know I can trust him. I believe he will contain the power of the mask."

'Good. More time for me to devour you.' Link suddenly rolled himself and Sheik into the basin.

"Melon head!" Sheik yelped as they came up to the surface. "What if I get sick again?"

'Then I'll just have to prove how doting of a wife I can be.'

-The End-

* * *

><p><strong>*big sigh* Finished!<strong>

**Please feel free to offer comments and criticisms. I plan to revise in the future, most likely in a few months so I have a fresh perspective. But I wanted to allow people to read it in the meantime.**

**I understand that I may have royally goofed up Sheik's identity. Sheik's gender does not match my own, and I tried to do as much research as I could to write fairly. But on the same hand I am not male, so I'm sure I also goofed up Link and Ganondorf too. (Probably why my male leads tend to get emotional more than 'manly men' are supposed to.)**

**Creepy/Happy Mask Salesman is there in case I decide to write a sequel. In case my intention wasn't clear enough, Sheik made the Fierce Deity mask for Link. I just decided to call it the Oni mask. **

**Link's part time job at the Post Office is a nod to Wind Waker, and also in honor of Booty Shorts Link being released as DLC for Hyrule Warriors. Bunny boy is seriously packing in those shorts... owo**


End file.
